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Origin and history

The Château de Parthenay is a former castle whose remains, classified as historical monuments since 1994, stand in the commune of Parthenay, in the Deux-Sèvres (Nouveau-Aquitaine). Located north of a natural platform overlooking the Thouet, it controlled a strategic crossroads between Poitiers, Nantes, Thouars and Niort. Its location, west of the city, made it a major monitoring point for the region.

The site's first occupation dates back to the Xth–XIIth centuries, but the first military constructions date back to 1227, under the impulse of the lords of Larch, powerful Poitevin lords. The castle, fortified in the 13th century and modified in the 15th century, was a strategic issue until its partial destruction in 1830. It underwent numerous princely and royal seats, reflecting its political and military importance between the 12th and 15th centuries.

Today, there are only imposing remains of the castle: a round tower probably ancient dungeon, portions of ramparts, and horse-drawn iron towers. The original 440-metre-long platform now houses a closed village. Nearby, the Saint-Jacques Gate, an ancient fortified entrance to the city, illustrates medieval defensive architecture with its almond towers and mâchicoulis. The ramparts, although reduced in height, remain visible in several points, especially near Boulevard de la Meilleraye.

The castle was inserted into a wider defensive system, including a second enclosure to the east and west, of which there are still bases. The citadel was also overhanging a fortified bridge on the Thouet, connected to the pilgrimage route of the Val Saint-Jacques. These elements underline its dual role: military for the lords of the archbishop, and economic for the village developed at its feet.

The protection of the site by the Historic Monuments in 1994 helped to preserve these traces of an enlivened medieval past. The remains, though partial, offer a rare testimony of the Poitevinian castral architecture and its evolution between the Middle Ages and the modern era, before its destruction in the nineteenth century.

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