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Origin and history

The castle of Montgiroux, mentioned from the twelfth century in various forms (Montgerol, Montegerulfi), was originally a medieval fief including a seigneurial house, a chapel and mills. A conciliabule stood there around 1058 between Robert de France, Geoffroy II de Mayenne and Hamon de Laval, probably directed against William the Conqueror. The site, strategic between the Mayenne and the Anxure, also housed a bridge, the maintenance of which was shared between lords and religious institutions such as the abbots of Savigny and Fontaine-Daniel.

In the 15th century, the mansion consisted of a 15th or 16th century house, with pigeon holes and stone seats in the windows, near a bridge on the back of the donkey. The Saint-Laurent Chapel, annexed to the parish of Saint-Germain-d-Anxure, remains a section of the wall. The village, called a village in 1617, was a compulsory passage from Mayenne, with traces of Roman occupation (currency found in the river bed).

The Montgiroux Bridge, rebuilt in stone by a private company (Collet and Cie) around 1832, was mined in 1870 without detonation and expanded in 1884. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, he served as a passage to the French army, and General Felix of the Temple established his headquarters there. The present castle, built from 1863 to 1869 by architects Delarue (father and son) and finished in 1901, dominates the valley with a central body flanked by pavilions.

Cardinal Jules Mazarin acquired the seigneury of Montgiroux in the 17th century, provided that it was not reunited in the duchy of Mayenne. The site then consisted of fiefs, mills (of the Communes, Morand), pastures and the farm of the Écottay. The bridge, which was subject to toll until 1878, was the only bridge between Mayenne and Saint-Jean-sur-Mayenne, emphasizing its strategic and economic importance.

The archives mention conflicts around his maintenance: in 1411 the lord of Montgiroux was assigned for a bridge deemed impracticable, while in 1414 he was accused of an excessive toll (4 deniers per cart). The site also housed a low water pavement and a ferry. A gabelle post was maintained there until the 19th century, reflecting its role in trade.

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