Le Mans: one of the oldest houses in the Cité Plantagenêt soon for sale

It is one of the oldest and most prestigious residences in the Cité Plantagenêt : the maison of the Queen Berengaria will soon be for sale.

Being part of the domaine public of the Ville du Manswho owns it, decided to reinstate it in the private domain.

A museum closed in 2022

The building formerly housed a musée, dedicated to the sovereign. Opened in 1924, it closed its doors definitively, almost a century later, on January 2, 2022. In December 2023, the Maine Archaeological Society left the scene.

Queen Bérengère’s house includes several spaces: one which housed the museum (at 7, 9 and 11 of the eponymous street), a house (at no. 17), and a garden called “cour pôté”. The latter occasionally hosted association events. It was open in particular during “Entre Cours et Jardins”.

Reorganize museums

During the municipal Council on Wednesday June 26, 2024, elected officials voted for the disaffection and the downgrading of the House. This procedure aims to transfer this property“to the extent that it no longer meets regulatory and accessibility standards”, specifies the deliberation.

This sale is part of a policy aimed at reorganizing the Le Mans museums.

For which project?

The best price will not necessarily be chosen… “It’s a sort of call for projects”, as deputy Christophe Counil explained during the vote by elected officials. Specifications must still be drawn up.

“Everyone will have the opportunity to express themselves on this subject. We don’t have to do anything. »

A 13th century queen… in a 15th century house?

If the presence of Queen Bérengère, widow of Richard Lion’s Heart, in Le Mans, is proven (early 13th century), she never lived in this “house”; this one dating from the end of the 15th century.

However, the name has persisted. “It is, at the same time as an act of prudent reserve, a satisfaction given to a tradition that is at least poetic and chivalrous, a legitimate homage granted to Queen Bérengère” (Robert Triger, 1893).

The whole, of three buildings, was amputated in 1853, with the destruction of the Cour Potée house. In 1891, on the initiative of Adolphe Singher, the Maine Historical and Archaeological Society moved there.

The queen’s final resting place is Epau Abbey, where her lying is still visible.

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