The Château de Pouzauges is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the town and ''

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

Pouzauges Pouzauges () is a commune in the Vendée ''département'' in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. Geography The river Lay forms most of the commune's southern border. Population Sights and monuments * The Château de Pouzauges is a ...

in the

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of France. Notably, it was inhabited in the 15th century by Catherine de Thouars, wife of

Gilles de Rais Gilles de Rais (c. 1405 – 26 October 1440), Baron de Rais (), was a knight and lord from Brittany, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army, and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known for his reputation and later convi ...

(1404 – 1440), though he never lived there, preferring the

Château de Tiffauges The Château de Tiffauges is a medieval castle situated in the French ''Communes of France, commune'' of Tiffauges in the Vendée Departments of France, département. The castle is also known as the ''château de Barbe-bleue'' (Bluebeard's castle) ...

History

In the 11th century, the castle belonged to the family of Zacharie de Pouzauges, from who it passed it to the enigmatic Chantemerle family and then to the famous Savary family of Mauléon and finally to the Viscounts of

Thouars Thouars () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France. On 1 January 2019, the former communes Mauzé-Thouarsais, Missé and Sainte-Radegonde were merged into Thouars. It is on the River Thouet. Its inhabitants are known as ...

, who administered nearly the whole of Vendée; they gave the castle to a cadet son who also owned

Tiffauges Tiffauges () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. History Gilles de Rais owned the local fortress. It is the location of a battle between the French Republican troops and the royalists du ...

. Catherine de Thouars brought the castle into the possession of Gilles de Rais thanks to their marriage. She was going to live there after his death. Under the aegis of Catherine, the

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

underwent many alterations to make it more comfortable as a residence. A new floor was added as well as a

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

linking it to all the others. Several windows were made, replacing the older

arrowslit An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts. The interio ...

s, to give more light to the interior. The castle was sold in 1634 to the lord of La Pélissonnière au Boupère. His descendants kept it until the mid-20th century. During the

War in the Vendée The war in the Vendée (french: link=no, Guerre de Vendée) was a counter-revolution from 1793 to 1796 in the Vendée region of France during the French Revolution. The Vendée is a coastal region, located immediately south of the river Loir ...

(1793-1794), the men of the "

infernal columns The infernal columns ( French: ''colonnes infernales'') were operations led by the French Revolutionary general Louis Marie Turreau in the War in the Vendée, after the failure of the Royalist Virée de Galerne. Following the passage on 1 Augus ...

" commanded by General Lachenay shot 31 inhabitants of Pouzauges who had taken refuge in the ''

enceinte Enceinte (from Latin incinctus: girdled, surrounded) is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the position. For ...

'' of the old castle. This act was committed on 26 January 1794 at the end of a banquet offered by the republican to General Grignon. On the same day, the surrounding villages were burnt and a number of inhabitants were massacred.

Architecture

The castle ruins are dominated by its majestic 12th century

. The keep, more than 25 metres high, is one of twelve towers that make the curtain wall, offering visitors a fine example of civil

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...

. It has been listed since 1862 as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' 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 (visual, ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pouzauges, Chateau de Castles in Pays de la Loire Vendée Monuments historiques of Pays de la Loire

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links