Origin and history
The château de la Citardière, located in Mervent, Vendée, was mentioned in 1396 as a fief with the right of low justice under the name of "fief des Houlières". The successive confessions between 1396 and 1549 revealed changes of owners among the families De Saint-Maxent, De Fontenioux and De Frondeboeuf. The estate included Simon Macé, squire, and Catherine de Frondeboeuf, widow of François Tautel, in 1549. These documents attest to its feudal importance in the seigneury of Mervent-Vouvant, under the authority of the Sires of Parthenay and the Counts of Richemont and Dunois.
In 1557, Henri de la Roche-Jousseaume, nicknamed the "Baron de Chantoizeau" or the "Red feathered Knight", became owner. A controversial figure, he is sometimes described as a robber, sometimes as a vigilante. In 1586, the estate was acquired by Jean Dejean, a wealthy merchant, before becoming a military issue during the Wars of Religion. Agrippa d-Aubigné, chronicler of Henry IV, describes in 1588 a battle between Huguenots and Catholics, highlighting his impressive defences: 19 meters wide ditches, crenelated walls, drawbridge and round road.
In the 17th century, the castle was radically redesigned. In 1609, Marie Dejean, daughter of Jean, married Jacques Pager, adviser to the King and mayor of Fontenay-le-Comte, who enlarged the estate. After his death in 1625, his son-in-law Jacques de Morienne, receiver of the sizes, undertook work but abandoned the project of a large house. The castle was seized in 1679 by Colbert for debts, then bought in 1692 by Charles Moriceau de Cheusse, Senechal de Fontenay, who kept it until the Revolution. A symbol of Salesian Protestantism, its defensive structure (douves, harrows, murderers) bears witness to its strategic role.
Ranked Historic Monument in 1989, the castle was restored from 1983 by Nadine and Gérard Coutant, who saved the wings West and East, the moats and the guard room. In 2020, Chantal and Pierre Chauvin-Dudit took over the estate and restored the entrance chestnut (2022) and the eastern pavilion, under the direction of Olivier Salmon, chief architect of historical monuments. The works reveal remarkable elements such as a painted piece of worship, a seigneurial kitchen and a bread oven always functional.
The architecture of the castle, in square of the island surrounded by moat, mixes military characteristics (bridge-levis, gargoyles in the shape of cannons, murderers) and residential elements (pavillons of angle, vaulted guard room in basket handle). Although designed for defense during the Wars of Religion, his style became obsolete under Louis XIV. The materials (cut stone, coated shale) and interior decorations (pathways, paintings) illustrate its evolution between fortress and seigneurial residence.
High place of Protestantism, the Citardière would have served as the basis for the Huguenote cavalry. Its history reflects the religious tensions in Vendée, a region deeply marked by conflicts between Catholics and reformers. Today, the castle combines architectural heritage and memory of denominational struggles, while remaining a rare testimony of Protestant strongholds in western France.
Announcements
Please log in to post a review