Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Oriou Castle, located in Saint-Maxire, New Aquitaine, is a closed domain of walls, located in a loop of the Sèvre, away from the village. Its body of rectangular houses, dated from the second half of the sixteenth century, is completed by outbuildings and a tower adjacent to the eastern facade. Two bridges cross the dry moats that gird the building, while angle turrets on ground consoles reinforce its defensive aspect to the west. The back round tower, with a screw staircase, keeps a round path on consoles, and its stone parapet is surmounted by a slate pepper.

The openings of the house were redesigned in the 19th century, but the whole preserved its character as a small rural seigneury of the late 16th – early 17th century. A large round tower, adjacent to the outbuildings to the north, presents a ground floor vaulted in rubble. Originally, each corner of the estate was protected by round towers, still visible on the 19th century cadastre. Despite the subsequent changes, the castle illustrates the defensive and seigneurial architecture of the late Renaissance, adapted to a rural context.

Ranked a Historic Monument, the castle of Oriou bears witness to the strategic importance of Saint-Maxire in the 16th and 19th centuries, linked in particular to its bridges and its geographical position. The North Tower, the only part protected by decree of 13 April 1989, embodies this defensive heritage. The interior, largely redesigned by successive occupants, contrasts with the exterior structure, which remains faithful to its Renaissance heritage.

External links