An 18th century French chateau owned by a Russian businessman has been demolished by accident near Bordeaux. Bellevue, one of the five architectural landmarks in the neighborhood, was bulldozed into the ground by mistake, instead of being renovated.

"I didn't know the chateau was destroyed, I'm shocked," its owner Dmitry Stroskin told Sud-Ouest.fr website. 

The Russian reportedly runs a logistics company in Warsaw exporting products from France to Poland and Russia. His 13,000m² chateau, situated in the heart of the Bordeaux vineyards, has been flattened, with next to nothing left but a fraction of the building. 

The castle once boasted two large rooms with fireplaces, accommodating up to 200 people. Chateau Bellevue, 12km east of Bordeaux, had been rented before being sold to Stroskin.

"Even if the building was in a very bad state, I wanted to renovate it," he emphasized.

Stroskin said he was the victim of the construction companies to whom he entrusted repair works. According to Sud-Ouest.fr website, those companies have their cars registered in Poland.

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Yvrac said building permission for renovation was issued in June 2011. "It simply authorized the destruction of a fraction of dependencies," Claude Carty was quoted as saying.

The protocol of non-compliance and violation of the Code of planning is reportedly at the prosecutor's office.

"I totally understand the excitement among local community members and the procedure at the prosecutor's,"Stroskin reacted. "But I'm not going to look for those responsible for this error: the damage is done," he said.

Addressing the local community of 2,500 people, Stroskin told his neighbors via Sud-Ouest.fr: "Attention! I'm not in oil or Russian gas," to rule out the stereotype of a typical Russian tycoon. 

"I will rebuild Bellevue identical [to what it used to be]!" he promised.

"I gave my heart to this site after searching for a house in France for years. I will work with a Paris architect on the case," Stroskin wrapped up.

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