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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The keep of Bazoges-en-Pareds came into being in the 11th century, with the first mention of a local lord, Thibaut Luneau, in 1056. The latter offered land to the monks of Vouvant, and his sons yielded the church of the castle in 1090. However, little information remains about this first castle, if it is the existence of a castral chapel. The seigneury remained in the hands of the Lunaau family until about 1370, a period marked by close ties with the lords of Lusignan. In 1359-1360, the castle's defences were razed by order of William of Parthenay-Larchal to prevent him from falling into the hands of the English. A decade later, in 1380, the same Guillaume ordered Jehan Girard, a new lord after his marriage with Marie Luneau, to strengthen the square.

The current dungeon was built between 1380 and the middle of the 15th century under the aegis of the Girard family. The latter, close to the French crown, transform Bazoges into a symbol of their power. Régnault Girard (circa 1418-1463), Ambassador of Charles VII and Governor of Saint-Michel-en-l-I-Herm, illustrates this ascent. His son Joachim and his descendants perpetuate this influence in the court. The donjon, rectangular and 30 meters high, is distinguished by its 8 levels (including cellars and attic), its armored chimneys, and a narrow round road with 56 carved mâchicoulis. Despite defensive elements, its architecture suggests a deparate vocation: rectangular towers (less resistant than round towers), sill windows, and ubiquitous sculptures.

In the 16th century, the castle passed to the Poussard du Vigean, a Protestant family near Henri de Navarre. In 1563, the assassination of John III Girard led to this transfer. Charles Poussard, the new seigneur, underwent a siege in 1594 by the Catholic League, pushed back by local reinforcements. The site was enriched with a Renaissance porch (1525 west) and a dovecote (circa 1540), decorated with the weapons of John III Girard and his wife, Valentine Lorfeyvre. This dovecote, with 1,980 bolts, bears witness to the seigneurial wealth. The castral enclosure, composed of three lines of ramparts, also included the church Our Lady of the Assumption, built between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries.

The decline began in the 17th century: sold around 1670 to Baudéan de Parabère, then in 1769 to the Carré de Candé family, the castle was no longer inhabited. Spared by the Infernal Columns in 1794, it was transformed into a farm in the 19th century, its filled moats and its partially demolished ramparts. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1927, it was bought by the commune in 1989 and restored between 1990 and 1995 with European and local funds. Today, the site includes the dungeon (visitable on 5 levels), a medieval garden labeled "Remarkable Garden" in 2018, and a museum of art and popular traditions. Animations, such as the "Médiévales" organized since 2003, perpetuate his legacy.

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