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Origin and history

The Château d'Écoyeux, also named Château de Polignac, is a 17th-century building located in the commune of Écoyeux, Charente-Maritime. It was built as a "new castle" at that time, while the "old castle" corresponds to the current town hall. This monument illustrates an ambitious but unfinished architecture, typical of the aristocratic projects of the time.

The castle was erected at the beginning of the 17th century by Louis de Polignac, seigneur of Écoyeux, as evidenced by construction contracts dated 1614. From the beginning, the project was only partially realized: only half of the planned housing body was created, and the building was never inhabited by its successive owners. He changed his hands over the centuries, especially when he sold the 22nd fructidor of the year XII (1804) to Baron d'Authon. His son settled there in 1835 and undertook some work, but it was only in 1952 that a new owner started his restoration.

On the architectural level, the castle preserves remarkable elements of the seventeenth century, such as a polygonal five-sided staircase tower, covered with a slate roof, and a span of the original house body. The latter, on two levels, is pierced with triangular pediment windows and covered with tiles. The garden, associated with the Princes of Polignac, is included in the pre-inventory of remarkable gardens. The castle was listed for historical monuments on 27 October 1971, recognizing its heritage value.

The history of the Ecoyeux Castle reflects the hazards of the major architectural projects of the Old Regime, often interrupted by financial or political constraints. His late rescue, in the 20th century, preserved a rare testimony of the constructive ambition of local lords, such as Louis de Polignac, and of the subsequent transformations linked to his various owners.

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