Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Bernay Castle, located in Iteuil, New Aquitaine, was built in the early 15th century. This historic monument, partially renovated in the 17th century, served as a residence for the mayor of Poitiers at that time. Its architecture preserves prominent Gothic elements, such as windows of the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as a spiral staircase built into a corner tower. Inside, some rooms still house original chimneys and dusts, testimonies of its medieval past.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the castle was sold and stripped of its carved decoration and furniture. Today, there remains a body of L-shaped houses, surrounded by outbuildings, as well as the ruins of a chapel and a dovecote. The chapel, of which there is only a vaulted apse on a dogives cross, illustrates Gothic religious architecture of the period. Remnants and the home, classified as Historic Monument in 1992, reflect the transformations of the building over the centuries.

The site, though partly in ruins, offers an overview of the architectural evolution between the Middle Ages and the modern era. The protected elements include the house body, the remains of the chapel and the outbuildings of the 15th and 17th centuries. These physical traces make it possible to understand the residential and symbolic importance of the castle in the region, especially through its connection with the poitevin bourgeoisie of the seventeenth century.

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