The Marquis of Dion

This month, we will share with you the rich and exciting life of the memorable Marquis de Dion, a colorful character who is a key figure in the history of the Château de Maubreuil and the French automobile.

Born in Nantes, on March 10, 1856, Jules Guillaume Louis Albert de Dion was a pioneer of the automobile industry in France and a French politician. Born a Count of Dion, he became Marquis and inherited the Château de Maubreuil upon the death of his parents.

The Marquis is a passionate mechanic. He was 26 years old in 1882, when he met Georges Bouton, a mechanic on the Boulevard de la Chapelle in Paris, and Charles-Armand Trépardoux, an engineer from the Arts et Métiers, an expert in the field of steam engines. They opened a workshop in the 10th arrondissement and began to make steam engines for the scientific toys of the Maison Groux and models for Ducretet. In 1883, the de Dion-Bouton association registered its first patent: a relatively light steam engine. This first patent was followed by many others.

The De Dion-Bouton automobile company was, for a short period, the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, and then, after the First World War, the main French manufacturer of railcars. In total, the company produced nearly 200,000 vehicles, and closed its doors in 1955, after 73 years of existence. It has strongly marked the history of the automobile by its creativity and the talent of its founders.

In 1894, the Marquis de Dion made automotive history by winning the Paris-Rouen race in a de Dion-Bouton, ahead of Panhard and the Peugeot brothers. That same year, his cars won the Paris-Rome race. This was his crowning achievement. He was also the founder of the Salon de l'auto in 1898, as well as the co-founder of the Automobile Club de France and the Aéro-Club de France the same year.

The Marquis de Dion is also known for his political career. He was elected General Councillor of the canton of Carquefou (1899 to 1934), deputy of Loire-Inférieure (1902 to 1923) then senator of Loire-Inférieure until 1940. He was elected many times with a considerable majority, which earned him the title of first elected official in France. Very present in Carquefou and in the property of the Château de Maubreuil, he obviously circulated there by car, with his famous trustworthy man and chauffeur, Zélélé, native of Abyssinia.

Until the end of his life, the Marquis was a fanciful man. He often made the headlines, whether it was to praise one of his revolutionary machines, to talk about one of his duels, his many love affairs or his striking political statements. He died on August 19, 1946 in Paris. A few years earlier, in 1934, he had sold the Maubreuil property to the Loire-Inférieure General Council in order to build a sanatorium.

It is in honor of this illustrious character in the history of the Château de Maubreuil and the town of Carquefou that we have named our gastronomic restaurant, La Table du Marquis. You will be able to contemplate photographs retracing the life of the Marquis de Dion during your visit to our 5-star hotel located a stone's throw from Nantes. Last September we inaugurated the plaque "Lieux de l'Histoire Automobile" at the entrance of the castle and soon a museum in memory of the marquis will be installed in our gardens.