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Origin and history

The Château de Grisy, located in Vendeuvre in Calvados, is a manor house dating back to the late 16th century. It is attested that a lord of Grisy already existed in the 12th century, but the present building was built at the end of the 16th century, and then redesigned in the 17th and 18th centuries. The right wing, dated from the reign of Henry II, and the facade, mainly from the era of Louis XIII, bear witness to these transformations. The door was redone in the early eighteenth century. This castle, owned by a Protestant family, was abandoned during the Wars of Religion and again during the French Revolution.

During the Second World War, the castle served as a fuel depot for the German occupant. Despite the bombings in 1944, he was not destroyed and was released in August of the same year. Since 1910, the same family has owned it. The monument was inscribed in the Historical Monuments on 18 November 1953, protecting its facades, roofs, ironwork staircase, as well as the water room, the pond and the surrounding meadow. Since the 1980s, restorations have been carried out, and it is open to the public from early July to mid-August.

Architecturally, the castle is distinguished by the use of limestone and Caen stone, typical of the region. Its history reflects the political and religious upheavals of Normandy, from the Wars of Religion to the Liberation. The domestic chapel, built in 1742 for Jacques Nicolas Lejeune, was destroyed, but the commons and landscape elements remain, illustrating the evolution of a seigneurial domain throughout the centuries.

The castle is also linked to influential families, such as the Lejeune de Grisy, councillors in the Normandy Parliament. Nicolas Lejeune de Grisy, owner at the beginning of the eighteenth century, had the house extended in 1702. These details highlight the social and political role of this type of residence, often at the heart of local networks of influence.

Today, Grisy Castle embodies both an architectural and historical heritage, marked by periods of prosperity, conflict and rebirth. Its inscription as a Historic Monument and its recent restorations make it a valuable testimony of Norman history, accessible to the public during the summer.

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