Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château-Renaud in Germigny-l'Exempt is a reconstructed building around 1683 on the site of a medieval castle, for Bernard Briçonnet d'Oizonville, a member of a tourangelle family who acquired the seigneury in 1689. The construction is often attributed to Joseph Lingré, Niverese master mason. The castle occupies the east end of a rectangular, moat-covered ground, with a west entrance marked by a sheltered bridge and a gate decorated with Briçonnet weapons. A round northwest tower, with a dome, houses the chapel, while a southwest circular terrace evokes an unfinished tower.

The main body, symmetrical around a central forebody, is flanked by two wings in return of square completed by round towers. The communes, located in the north, were built at different times. In the 19th century, a major restoration concerned the north wing (uphill), openings, facades and interior decorations. The monument has been partially classified since 1989, protecting its facades, roofs, interior staircase, towers, gate and moat.

The architecture combines classicism (scheduling of facades, pilasters) and inherited defensive elements (doves, towers). The chapel, integrated with the north-west tower, and the arched gate underline the seigneurial prestige of the Briçonnets. Walled ditches and bridges (west and east) recall the adaptation of a medieval site to the aesthetic canons of the Great Century.

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