Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Coulaine Castle, built in the 3rd quarter of the 15th century by Jehan de Garguesalle III (grand squire of France and governor of Chinon), replaces an older medieval fortress. This flamboyant Gothic mansion, typical of the Touraine, is distinguished by its rubble windows, corbelled turrets and an octagonal staircase tower decorated with sculptures. The Italian influence manifests itself by openings favoring aesthetics to defence, while maintaining a marked medieval structure. The coat of arms of the Ouirit, visible on the façade, bears witness to family alliances.

In the 19th century, the castle underwent major transformations under the impulse of romantic taste for English parks and neo-Gothic. The agricultural communes and the entrance porch are partially demolished to open a perspective towards Vienna, while Viollet-le-Duc inspires carved additions (crochets, pinnacles). A neo-Gothic orangery and "cradles" (chlets, Chinese pavilion) then embellish the park. The interior, completely redesigned, loses its medieval traces, despite an aborted project of decoration in 1904.

The Coulaine estate, a farm and winery since the Middle Ages, illustrates the local economy: polyculture, breeding, and especially sericulture (silk production) imposed by Louis XI in 1470. The 19th century "glassware" (magnary) today inactive recalls this flourishing activity before its decline due to silkworm disease. Viticulture, secondary until the 18th century, became central after 1960 with the replanting of vines (notably Cabernet-Franc, cited by Rabelais) and conversion to organic farming in the 1990s.

The site's literature is taken from François Rabelais, whose father (avocado) frequented Coulaine, places scenes from the Picrocholine Wars (1534). The monk Brother Jean des Entomeurs evokes the pranks of the castle pages, anchoring the monument in the reborn imagination. The family archives, like an 18th century Harvest Journal, document a modest wine production (3 hectares) of red and white wines, sold locally before phylloxera decimated the vineyards.

Filed a Historical Monument in 1944, Coulaine embodies the continuity of a living heritage: the estate, still owned by the Margueralle family by alliance, produces today 90,000 bottles/year in the name Chinon, on 18 hectares (including 10 exploited since the beginning). The turpenay fence, acquired in the 20th century, perpetuates a winery attested since the 13th century, linked to the local abbey.

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