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Castle dans l'Orne

Orne

Castle

    973 Chemin de la Distillerie
    61310 Gouffern en Auge
Ownership of a private company

Timeline

Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1422
Confiscation of the castle
1482
Medieval enlargement
1780-1785
Construction of the current castle
1783
Making the ramp
1930
Modification of entry
26 août 1991
Registration for Historic Monuments
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Cour d'honneur and moat with their walls and bridge; pond. Castle: facades and roofs; stairwell with staircase and wrought iron ramp; large living room with all its decor. Facades and roofs of the communes and dovecote (Cases B 82 to 85): inscription by decree of 26 August 1991

Key figures

Guillaume Lenfant - Former owner Destroyed the castle in 1422.
Jean Bernart - Lord and builder Expanded the castle in 1482.
Louis Eustache Bernart - Sponsor of the present castle Start construction in 1780.
Eustache Louis Bernart - Inheritance and continuity Finish the castle around 1785.
Jean et Michel Hacault - Iron and steel workers Authors of the ramp in 1783.

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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