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Origin and history

The château de la Hunaudaye, located in Plédéliac in the Côtes d'Armor, finds its origins in the 13th century under the impulse of Pierre de Dreux, Duke of Brittany. Originally built to monitor the border between the Penthièvre and the Poudouvre, it was entrusted to Olivier Tournemine, who erected a fortress there in 1220. This first castle, destroyed during the War of Succession of Brittany (1341-1364), was rebuilt between 1367 and 1474 by the Tournemine, family faithful to the Penthièvre and the Dukes of Brittany. The new structure, of pentagonal plan with five towers, incorporates military innovations of the time.

In the 15th century, the Hunaudaye estate became a baronie in recognition of the services rendered by François Tournemine during the Mad War. The castle, spared by the troubles of the League (1592-1598), experienced a period of decline from the seventeenth century. After the extinction of the lineage of the Tournemines, it passes into the hands of families such as the Rosmadecs and the Rieux, who bring to it minor arrangements, such as a staircase of apparate. In 1793, during the Revolution, he was burned by Lamballe revolutionaries, fearing that he would serve as a refuge for the Chouans.

Ranked a historic monument in 1922, the castle was bought by the state in 1930 after the collapse of some structures. Urgent restoration campaigns were carried out in the 1930s and 1950s, followed by security in the 1960s. Since 1977, the association of the château de la Hunaudaye has been responsible for its management and development, with recent works (2005-2008) to facilitate its opening to the public. Today, the site offers guided tours, exhibitions and educational activities.

Archaeological excavations carried out between 1978 and 2002 suggest that the present castle is based on an old castral mound, perhaps occupied from the Iron Age. An archeobotanic study in 2004 revealed the evolution of the surrounding landscape from dense forest to flax and hemp crops in the Middle Ages, then to grasslands in the modern era. The Hunaudaye forest, formerly divided between the Tournemine and the Abbey of Saint-Aubin des Bois, is now a state forest classified as ZNIEFF.

The castle is surrounded by local legends, such as that of the "buffalo", a ghost whose melancholy rale haunts the place. His story is also linked to works of fiction, such as the novel Le Gerfaut des hautes by Juliette Benzoni, which features a fictional heir to the Tournemine. Since 2008, the castle has been owned by the Conseil départemental des Côtes-d的Armor, which continues its preservation and cultural animation.

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