From oblivion to resurrection: the Château de la Mothe Chandeniers embarks on a new journey!
Located in the heart of Loire Valley, La Mothe Chandeniers is a singular, mysterious and romantic castle. It looks like it came straight out of a fairy tale. Throughout its history, it has experienced lavish glory, neglect, daring reconstruction, dramatic fire and astonishing survival...
©Dartagnans
Abandoned for nearly 100 years, the destiny of the Château de la Mothe Chandeniers took a major turn in 2018 when tens of thousands of people from around the world came together to save the ruin and bring it back to life. La Mothe Chandeniers now belongs to a community of 20.000 co-châtelains (co-lords) and shareholders from 115 countries who work towards its development and preservation.
The French startup Dartagnans initiated this project in 2018. After a record crowdfunding campaign, 2 years of renovation work, 200 volunteer workcamps, 30 events organized, more than 50.000 visitors welcomed and a first Michelin Green Star awarded, the bet to save and bring this magical castle back to life has been met!
Today, the adventure continues and the projects for the castle are ambitious. Dartagnans is opening a new crowdfunding campaign and offering the opportunity for more people to join the world's largest community of castle saviors.
The funds raised will be used to develop new touristic activities at la Mothe Chandeniers and to pursue the extensive castle restoration program.
What if you joined the world's largest community of castle saviors?
Would you like to offer a share to a loved one? It's possible ! In this case, you need to acquire a “Ma Part du Château” box containing a numbered card, which will allow you to pre-pay for the share.
This simple and secure way allows you to turn your loved ones into co-châtelains.
With the “Ma Part du Château” gift box, turn your loved ones co-châtelains and shareholders of this architectural gem and participate in its rebirth.
Join tens of thousands of co-châtelains from all over the world and enjoy many privileges such as:
- Free entry for life
- A real decision-making power on the development of the project
- Privileged access to exclusive events
- The possibility of participating in volunteer workcamps
Heritage lovers, you have the perfect opportunity to join the great family of La Mothe Chandeniers and to participate in the development of this incredible historical monument!
Taking part in this project is an opportunity to participate even more directly in the restoration and safeguarding of our heritage. It is also the opportunity to join a fantastic human adventure, to live unforgettable experiences and to be part of a close-knit community around the preservation and development of its castle.
Part of the community of La Mothe Chandeniers during the award ceremony of the Michelin Guide green star
Owning a share of a French castle for less than 80€ is possible!
In return for each investment of 79€, participants become co-châtelains and shareholders
of the Château de la Mothe Chandeniers and benefit from several privileges:
• A free entry in the castle for life,
• The possibility to participate in volunteer workcamps,
• An access to the private community of co-châtelains,
• One vote per share at the castle's General Meetings
• Access to events exclusively reserved to the community
• Tax exemption on their investment (for French residents only)
By participating in the adventure, you contribute directly to the development of the project, the rescue of the castle and the growth of society.
The co-châtelains privileges
For each share or gift box purchased, also receive a voucher for an exclusive guided visit of the Mothe Chandeniers construction site (to offer or to use for yourself).
From the moat to the top of the scaffolding, during this privileged visit in the company of the Mothe Chandeniers team, visitors will discover the extraordinary construction site of La Mothe Chandeniers and will have the unique opportunity to explore the parts of the castle closed to the public.
The perfect opportunity to discover, in a small committee, the Mothe Chandeniers as few people have ever seen it... The next visits will take place in the spring of 2023. Participants will be able to reserve their slots via a registration form that will be sent to them.
Since the beginning of the adventure, Dartagnans and its community have carried out extraordinary projects. The recent Michelin Green Star award marks a key milestone and
highlights all the incredible achievements.
The Château de la Mothe Chandeniers wishes to continue on the path of innovation, where heritage preservation rhymes with tourism development.
Having made the inner courtyard accessible, Dartagnans now wants to open and secure new rooms of the castle through as vast program of restoration. In the coming years, more events and privatizations will be organized and la Mothe Chandeniers aims at welcoming visitors over night for a magical stay!
More than 200 volunteer workcamps have taken place since 2018
All our achievements would not have been possible without the dedication of our incredible community of co-châtelains and volunteers. Thanks to them, the Mothe Chandeniers project is growing day by day.
Through these workcamps, every shareholder can be as involved as they want in the development of our castle and we are lucky to be able to share unforgettable moments all together.
The purchase of the castle, in March 2018
From its launch, the project of buying and saving La Mothe Chandeniers was met with extraordinary enthusiasm and touched thousands of people from all over the world. This unprecedented mobilization allowed us to realize our dream in record time: buy the castle and open it to the public.
The purchase of the park and the chapel, in June 2018
We then had the opportunity to expand the estate by acquiring the park and the chapel. This allowed us to set up a parking area, to welcome visitors and to offer a unique event program in the park and the chapel.
The castle restoration program, initiated in January 2019
The big challenge of the restoration program, led by the architects Carsten Hanssen on the building and Arnauld Delacroix on the landscape, is to renovate the castle while at the same preserving the unique and magical greenery in and around the castle.
We were thus able to consolidate the ruins, secure the estate and, in less than a year, open the inner courtyard of the castle to visitors while preserving the luxurious vegetation inside the castle grounds.
Creation of the event space, inaugurated in October 2021
The beautiful event space, built by the Ateliers Delattre in the park overlooking the castle, will satisfy the many requests for privatization and will welcome visitors throughout the year for exceptional events.
400 m2 of surface to be privatized for events, seminars and weddings
Installation of 4 ecolodges, opening scheduled for spring/summer 2023
In addition to the transformation of our outbuildings into a hotel and reception rooms, 4 ecolodges, made of natural materials, are being installed in the castle grounds. We will be offering a unique accommodation offer on the castle grounds this summer.
Events: 30 events organized since the castle opened
Having become the most famous fairy tale castle in the world, the Domaine de la Mothe Chandeniers also lives again thanks to its many visitors. Since its opening to the public and despite the difficult sanitary context of these last two years, we have been able to host four wonderful seasons at the castle.
We have great memories of the Nuit des Châteaux event, last October, which inaugurated our event space for the exiting Gatsby evening.
For the first time, we offered our visitors a magical visit in and around the castle for the end-of-year celebrations. More than 3000 enchanted visitors discovered our castle from a completely different angle!
The Féeriques event, December 2021
Visitors: more than 52,000 visitors since the castle opened
La Mothe Chandeniers today offers a unique spectacle in the world and attracts thousands of visitors from all over the globe. Despite the health context that did not allow us to open during the entire 2020 and 2021 seasons, we have been able to welcome more than 52,000 visitors to the castle since its opening.
We are getting closer every day to our ultimate goal: financing the restoration of the Castle, its Chapel and annex buildings through the creation of a unique tourist offer.
It has now been four years since our great adventure began. Four great years of exchanges, encounters and projects, which today lead us to a new milestone in the journey of the castle: the acquisition of the Historic Dovecote, the Annex House and New Land.
The completion of this new project will allow us to considerably accelerate the development of the castle and to reunite the Mothe Chandeniers with its oldest building.
The new domaine of la Mothe Chandeniers
This new purchase includes:
1/ The annex house: 292m2
Exterior and interior view of the terraced house
2/ The historical dovecote: this building represents a real historical and architectural interest for our project. Dating from the 13th century, it's the oldest building on site. Spared during the great fire of March 13, 1932, its two pivoting ladders which allowed, around a central axis, to recover the eggs and clean the some 1070 putlogs are still in good condition today.
Exterior and interior views of the dovecote in its current state
3 / Additional land: 8000m2
The purchase of these outbuildings will allow us to offer an additional accommodation offer from 2023 and thus considerably accelerate the development of the castle by taking advantage of a significant additional source of income.
Projection of the interior of the renovated and furnished terraced house
The economic development and restoration project for the Château de la Mothe Chandeniers will take place in successive stages. Each reaching of a level will allow the realization of additional elements of development and/or restoration, to constantly control the budget of the operation.
By participating in the adventure as a shareholder and co-châtelain, you contribute directly to the development of the project, to the rescue of the castle and to the growth of the company.
Would you like to gift a share to a loved one? It's possible! In this case, you need to acquire a box containing a numbered card, which will allow you to pre-pay the share.
Your loved one (or yourself, if you wish to offer yourself a box), can become a holder of a share without paying a euro by using the numbered card.
This simple and secured system allows you to turn your loved ones into true co-châtelains (co-lords) and shareholders of a French castle!
The share with the “Ma Part du Château” box: for yourself or for your loved ones
To subscribe to a share for yourself or to offer an option to a loved one with the "Ma Part du Château" collector's box, simply click on the button: "Buy an option for a third party".
If you wish to take more than one, simply indicate the number of boxes you wish to receive when paying.
Inside is a uniquely numbered membership card.
Note 1: The box must be activated before the end of the campaign. After this period, the value of the option it represents will be transformed into an anonymous donation in favor of the SAS du Château de la Mothe Chandeniers company and the beneficiary of the option/box will not benefit from the associated share and will therefore not be a shareholder. The value of the option and the associated delivery costs will not be refunded to the buyer.
Note 2: Delivery: Boxes are sent every month. For boxes sent outside of France, delays may be added due to postal and customs specificities of the countries. Attention, if several options (boxes) are ordered, only one delivery address can be indicated. In order to be able to send the boxes to several different addresses, you will have to redo the procedure for each box.
While waiting to receive your box and in case you want to offer it, you can download and print the following document:
The share without the box: for yourself or your minor child only
If you want to take one or more shares for yourself, without the box, just click on the button: "Invest".
In order to help you in your subscription process with or without the box, you can consult the video tutorials by clicking on the links below:
> How to acquire a single share? The name of the castle is different but the procedure remains the same whatever the chosen castle.
The IR PME scheme allows taxpayers to reduce their income tax by 18% of the amounts invested in the capital of French and European SMEs.
The amount of the tax reduction is calculated on the basis of payments made during a
calendar year according to the following conditions:
✓ Subscription to the initial capital or to a capital increase of an unlisted SME
(BOI-IR-RICI-90-10-20) before December 31 of the current tax year
✓ Conservation by the taxpayer of the securities acquired for at least 5 years as of its
subscription.
✓ Be a natural person whose tax residence is located in France
✓ Carry over his investment on the 2042 C declaration.
What amounts?
> 50 000 € of investment for a single person, that is a maximum tax reduction of 12 500 €.
> 100,000 for married or civil union couples (joint taxation) for a maximum tax reduction of
€25,000
Please note: The rate of the tax reduction has changed between January 1, 2020 and May 9, 2021.
Please note that the tax benefits linked to the IR-PME scheme are not compatible with those linked to an investment via PEA or PEA-PME.
Please note: options purchased for a third party are not eligible for IR tax exemption.
Good to know: Parents can defund their minor child's share.
To find out more about the IR PME scheme, you can consult the Taxation 1. What are the tax advantages of the investment? of the FAQ.
Please note: This page is only an indicative tool and cannot be used as a substitute for the official (up-to-date) texts. The taxpayer remains solely responsible for his or her tax return. The income tax return, with the tax authorities, depends on the financial situation of each subscriber. The tax reduction applicable to him/her is also based on a global reading of his/her assets. As Dartagnans is not a tax consulting firm, we recommend that you contact the appropriate institutions for these issues.
Where can I find my tax receipt?
Your tax receipt corresponds to the subscription form that you received by email at the time of your investment. You can find your subscription form in your account at www.dartagnans-invest.fr in the "my shares" section.
Questions about how the investment works? (for you, a relative, a minor child...)
We answer all the most frequently asked questions in the following document: click here to access the document.
Warning: investments present a significant risk of partial or total loss of capital as well as a risk of illiquidity.
If you have any questions about the risks of investing, you can consult the dedicated section of the FAQ: Being an investor, what is my commitment and what are the risks?
Photos credits: Benoît Lecordier, Jean-Christophe Lippmann, Vincent Fouché, Katia De Azevedo et La Mothe Chandeniers
