Historic French Chateau bulldozed by Mistake

 
Bungling builders bulldoze entire historic French chateau by mistake... after its millionaire owner told them to demolish a small outhouse on its estate

Chateau de Bellevue, near Bordeaux, once boasted 140,000-square-feet of grand reception rooms, ornate fireplaces, winding marble staircases
Then its new owner, a Russian millionaire businessman, employed a team of Polish builders to renovate the manor to its former glory
But the workers apparently misunderstood the instructions and pulled down the castle, leaving the outhouse completely untouched.

Blundering builders mistakenly bulldozed an 18th-century chateau in the heart of France's picturesque wine country - when they were only supposed to knock down an outhouse on its estate.

Chateau de Bellevue, 12km to the east of Bordeaux, once boasted 140,000-square-feet of grand reception rooms, ornate fireplaces, winding marble staircases and imposing granite balconies.

Then its new owner, a Russian millionaire businessman, employed a team of Polish builders to renovate the manor to its former baroque glory, including the removal of one small building.

But the workers apparently misunderstood the instructions and pulled down the castle instead, leaving the outhouse completely untouched.

'The Chateau de Bellevue was Yvrac's pride and joy,' said former owner Juliette Marmie. 'The whole village is in shock. How can this construction firm make such a mistake?'

Local media reported that the construction company misunderstood the renovation plans of the current owner, Russian businessman Dmitry Stroskin, to clean up and renovate the manor.

Stroskin was away when the calamity occurred and returned home to discover his chateau, a local treasure whose grand hall could host some 200 people, was nothing but rubble.

Stroskin, who works in Warsaw, told the local paper Sud Ouest: 'I didn't know the chateau had been destroyed, I'm in shock. Even if it was in a very bad state, I had wanted to renovate it.'

He told them he plans to build an exact replica of lost manor on the site.