Ménars

At the foot of the hillside flows the Loire, with its wild banks ideal for walks and hiking trails. Above Ménars, the Beauce plain unfurls its wide expanses of cereal crops. Divided between farmland and forest, Ménars remains a rural village.
As early as the Middle Ages, this hamlet, part of the County of Blois, became a seigneury dependent on the parish of Cour-sur-Loire. Ménars became a parish in 1629.

In 1633, Guillaume Charron began construction of a manor house and became Viscount of Ménars. His successor, Jean-Jacques Charron (brother-in-law of minister Colbert) became President of the Parliament of Paris. In 1676, he obtained from Louis XIV the creation of a marquisate for Ménars, extending from Maves to St Claude de Diray.
The château was acquired in 1760 by the Marquise de Pompadour, who enlarged and embellished it. Her brother, the Marquis de Marigny, continued the work and gave it its current appearance. The best architects (Gabriel, Soufflot...) worked on it. The greatest artists took part (Vinache, Adam l'ainé, Pigalle...). Today, the Château de la Marquise remains one of the finest in the Loire Valley.

Built in 1629, the church illustrates the pre-Baroque style. Its simple, sober exterior contrasts with the choir, which heralds the great Baroque era.
Nestled in the hollow of its valley since the Middle Ages, the "old" village has preserved the picturesque lanes, fine facades, wells and pretty gardens of days gone by. But the last thirty years have seen the development of housing estates that have managed to respect this environment and blend discreetly into the landscape.

A rural village, Ménars is close to Blois, its services, schools and culture. But our community has managed to preserve its shops (grocery store, bakery-pastry shop, butcher's and delicatessen, café-tabac-press-post office), its schools and its craftsmen (salon, bakery, bakery, butcher's and delicatessen).We also have a number of local services (doctors, nurses, etc.) and dynamic associations. Gites and B&Bs open up the village to tourism. High-tech companies (SARL APPAOO and Sté SFERIC) have set up shop here, creating 150 jobs. As part of the Val de Loire UNESCO World Heritage site, Ménars is also ensuring its own development.

In Ménars, history doesn't exclude modernity, rurality welcomes industry, and the nearby town nevertheless allows a strong economic activity to be maintained. In the hollow of its valley, Ménars is not a "sleeping beauty"...

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