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Origin and history

The castle of Aulnay, located in Aulnay-de-Saintonge in Charente-Maritime, dates mainly from the 13th century, although its circular dungeon, 15 meters high, dates back to the 12th century. Built on a terrace, this dungeon included a spiral staircase integrated in the thickness of the walls, vaulted dome floors and murderers as the only openings. In the vicinity, an imposing round flight, a medieval dovecote, has lost its roof over the centuries.

The site, originally named Aunedonacum and crossed by a Roman way linking Saintes to Poitiers, was a seigneury owned by the Maingot family from the 9th to the 13th century. He then passed into the hands of the Mortagne, Clermont and Montberon, before being acquired in 1506 by Louise de Savoie, who offered it to Charles d'Orléans. Returning to the royal estate after the latter's death, he was assigned to Marie Stuart as a dowry complement and then recovered from his execution. The castle, gradually abandoned, served as a stone quarry after the Revolution, and its last ruins were razed in 1840.

During the Hundred Years' War, the castle was occupied by the English before being taken over by Duguesclin. During the Wars of Religion he was disputed between Protestants and Catholics, and Louis XIII stayed there. In the 17th century, it was nothing more than a ruin, and its stones, reused in local buildings, still adorn the streets of the village. Only the tower of the dungeon remains, classified as a Historic Monument in 1925, with its vaulted floors and its partially preserved round path.

The castle, built by the Viscounts of Aulnay, illustrates the conflicts and property changes typical of medieval fortresses. His dungeon, transformed into a communal prison, and his dovecote testify to his past importance. The remains, though fragmentary, offer an overview of the defensive and seigneurial architecture of the time.

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