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Origin and history

The castle of Saige, located in Cadaujac in Gironde, was built at the end of the 18th century by François-Armand de Saige, former attorney general in the Parliament of Bordeaux and mayor of the city in 1791. The latter, guillotined in 1793 during the French Revolution, left an unfinished castle, marked by a prolonged rectangular architecture of a hemicycle. The estate, with an area of 14 hectares, dominates the wetlands of the palus de la Garonne and is distinguished by its three-level facades, decorated with triangular and curved frontons.

During the Second World War, the castle was requisitioned by the German army, as was the nearby castles of Millefleurs and Bouscaut. At the Liberation in 1944, a group of Franks and partisans (FTP) summarily executed seven people there, accused of being militiamen, whose bodies were first buried in the park before being exhumed and transferred to Thuars Castle in Talence. This tragic episode was a lasting sign of local history.

The castle of Saige, registered with historical monuments in 1983 for its facades and roofs, became property of the commune of Cadaujac in 1979. Its architecture reflects the classical influences of the 18th century, with a Tuscan-column porch and a largely transformed interior, with the exception of an old door kept on the first floor. The park, once prestigious, and the hemicircular terrace add to its prestige, although its current use is not specified in the sources.

The site is also linked to the wine history of the region, Cadaujac being a commune of Graves, renowned for its wines. The castle thus embodies both the Bordeaux architectural heritage and the historical upheavals of the Gironde, from the Revolution to the Second World War.

Its strategic location, near the Garonne and near Bordeaux, made it a popular place of residence, before becoming a symbol of the political and social tensions that have crossed the region. Today, there remains a major testimony of local history, between aristocratic grandeur and historical dramas.

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