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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Courmenil Castle, located in Gouffern en Auge in Orne, is a building representative of the great estates of the late eighteenth century in Normandy. It replaces an ancient castle mentioned in 1422, confiscated from Guillaume Lainfant and enlarged in 1482 by Jean Bernart, who added a chapel and a defense tower, now missing. The present castle was built between 1780 and 1785 for Louis Eustache Bernart, and completed by his son Eustache Louis Bernart.

The architecture of the castle includes a central house body flanked by two square pavilions, with a south facade decorated with a forebody surmounted by a triangular pediment. Inside, a wooden staircase with divergent flights, equipped with a wrought iron ramp made in 1783 by brothers Jean and Michel Hacault, leads to the large living room. The latter is decorated with glazed murals and murals depicting children's scenes. The common, brick, and dovecote complete the whole.

The estate underwent modifications in the 19th and 20th centuries, such as adding a wash tower, a stone bridge, and an iron bridge. In 1930, the entrance to the court of honour was moved to the centre, with a grid inspired by that of the Trianon. The honorary courtyard, moat, pond, facades, stairwell, large living room, communes and dovecote have been listed as historical monuments since 26 August 1991.

The castle was initially a seigneury confiscated in 1422, then transmitted to the Bernart family, which marked its history with successive enlargements. Today, the site belongs to a private company and retains traces of its medieval origins while illustrating the evolution of aristocratic residences on the eve of the French Revolution.

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