Château de Canisy is a

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Now ...

constructed on the site of a former castle in the ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of ''

Canisy Canisy () is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, the former commune of Saint-Ébremond-de-Bonfossé was merged into Canisy.Manche Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019.département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The present building was constructed some time in the 16th century. It is located about from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and from

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.

, in the center of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. The château is surrounded by 740 acres of forests, ponds, lakes, gardens and manicured lawns. Members of the Kergorlay family have owned the estate for the past 1,000 years. The ownership of the château has been passed down to the oldest male heir in the family since the time it was built. At the present time, Comte Denis de Kergolay is the presiding owner of the Château de Canisy.

History

Construction

In 1066, the Lord of Canisy was Hugues de Carbonnel. At that time there was a medieval castle on the grounds and a

fortified tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...

; only a portion of these remain. The present Château de Canisy was mainly constructed between 1558 and 1625 during the time that Herve de Carbonnel was presiding owner of the estate. He commissioned the architect François Gabriel to oversee the renovation. Local stone used on the exterior of the château has a purple hue, which at times appears to change color in the sunlight. The château has parapets and towers which were typical of the architectural design of that era. At one time the château was surrounded by a moat, which has since been filled in.

Second World War

In 1940, German soldiers took over the château and occupied it until August 1944. During that time, Brigitte de Kergorlay, daughter of the heir of the castle, was the translator between the German forces and her father, who spoke fluent German, but refused to speak to the German soldiers at all. The surrounding commune of Canisy was part of the aerial saturation bombing that was launched by the

United States First Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Korea ...

led by General Omar Bradley. During the battle on 26 July 1944, the commune was liberated when Bradley pushed his troops through the German lines. This was known as

Operation Cobra Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the United States First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy campaign of World War II. The intention was to take adv ...

, which had a goal of creating a passage for the Allies to get from Normandy to

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

. After liberation, the Château de Canisy was used as a hospital for wounded Allied soldiers.

Restorations

During the occupation of the château by the German forces and the ensuing battles accompanying the landing of the Allies, there was severe damage to the structure. Since that time, the château has undergone several restorations. During the one thousand years this castle and the surrounding grounds have been owned by the Kergorlay family, some changes have been made to make life in the estate more modern and convenient, while maintaining as much as possible of its original architectural heritage. It has been listed since 1945 as a '' monument historique'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visua ...

Today

The Kergorlay family has opened the Château de Canisy as a historical château, hotel and event venue. Rooms in the castle are decorated with furniture accumulated by the various Kergorlay owners throughout history, to represent specific time periods. Inside the castle there is also a library which contains many rare and collectable books.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Château de Canisy Châteaux in Manche Houses completed in 1625