The earliest recorded castle of Château de Challain-la-Potherie dates all the way back to the medieval age in 1050. The original castle was probably part of the ‘Les Marches de Bretagne’ a series of fortresses that acted as a defensive line that protected the people of the ancient region of France known as Brittany. That chateau, and many others that followed it were destroyed in the wars, and conflicts that wracked the area in the centuries that followed.
The current Château de Challain-la-Potherie was built from 1847 to 1854 in the neo-Gothic style, which was fashionable among the French aristocracy at the time. Its architect, René Hodé, designed many other châteaux in the same style in Anjou, but Challain remains the most imposing.
The 19th-century castle was commissioned by Louise-Ida de La Potherie, the last of her name, and her husband, the Count of La Rochefoucauld-Bayers. The choice of the neo-Gothic style was a means for them to restore the family's glory after the French Revolution. It was also a choice motivated by the tastes of the time, as neo-Gothic was in vogue among the Angevin aristocracy. René Hodé specifically adopted the troubadour style, which applied a neo-medieval decoration to a functional structure. The internal structure of the castle and its general layout followed the neoclassical architectural rules developed in the 18th century.
Despite its grandeur and significant place in the history of Angevin architecture, it suffered some degradation after the death of its patrons. It had numerous successive owners during the 20th century and served as a vacation colony center for about twenty years. Finally, in 2002, it was transformed into a luxury guesthouse.
Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.