Château
de La Borie

The Château de La Borie is located five kilometers south of Limoges, near the medieval village of Solignac, surrounded by nature, in the hilly bocage of Limousin. The village of Solignac is home to a Benedictine abbey founded by Eloi de Noyon around 638. A community of Benedictine monks lived there from the 7th century to the end of the 18th century, and again from 2021 (“prieuré Saint-Joseph de Solignac”). Solignac is on the route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. From Vézelay, Limoges and Solignac are halfway points as a stopover. The village is also on the Richard the Lionheart Route, which is a discovery route in the southwest of the Haute-Vienne from the Charente to the gateway to the Dordogne and Corrèze. Its route is indicated by a road sign at the head of the road: a crowned lion with an arrow through its heart, recalling the tragic fate of Richard the Lionheart.

The Château de La Borie was built between 1580 and 1634, at the end of the reign of Louis XIII, in a late Renaissance style. Its first owner was the squire Martial de Maledent, lord of La Borie, president treasurer of France at the finance office of the Generality of Limoges. La Borie (a term apparently derived from the Occitan term “boria” meaning an ox stable) is the representative example of the classic Limousin estates with an agricultural vocation that were built in the area around Limoges. The castle was not only a place of pleasure and prestige, with a terrace for walking and conversation, but also included an agricultural domain responsible for providing primary goods, wood, hay, poultry, cereals. This type of castle is called a “château aux champs”. The castle has been classified as a “Historic Monument” (MH) in its entirety (exterior and interior) since 1984 and the facades and roofs of the farm buildings (“commons”), the oratory, the surrounding wall, the dovecote are listed in the supplementary inventory of historical monuments (ISMH).

The owners and the project

François Trausch and Alexandra Alquier-Trausch, committed collectors who support contemporary creation, primarily in the visual arts, took over the Château de La Borie in 2024.

François Trausch and Alexandra Alquier-Trausch, after both studying at Harvard (United States), pursued international careers, in the commercial real estate sector for François, particularly in Japan, and in the fashion and luxury goods sector for Alexandra in Argentina.

Since 2021, François and Alexandra have jointly supported contemporary art and artists, a commitment they each previously shared. Alexandra is partly from the Limousin region, but it was contemporary art that introduced them to the Château de La Borie. Indeed, the Château de La Borie has been a cultural destination since the late 20th century. The previous owners had anchored Château de La Borie in the observation of biodiversity and contemporary art.

It is precisely this commitment, centered around Arts, Nature, and Heritage, that will be preserved with the continuation of the garden according to the principles of the “Garden in Movement” and the creation of La Borie Art Residency, an artist residency.

Château de La Borie promises a place conducive to reenchantment, allowing a comforting immersion in the richness of the connections forged between humans and their environment, drawing the beginnings of a benevolent reestablishment in the world. La Borie Art Residency will allow this place to resonate with artists and their practices, between heritage and memory, present reality and possible futures. The site will be open to the public forty days a year between July and September.

La Presse en parle

06.2024 ¦ France 3
“Rachat du Château de La Borie:
‘ce lieu nous a inspirés’, raconte la nouvelle propriétaire”
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