Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The château Saint Christau, located in Puch-d'Agenais in New Aquitaine, consists of two bodies of houses and commons articulated around two courtyards. The 17th-century North House is based on a stone-cut retaining wall, while the 19th-century South House, rebuilt after a fire, has an ordered five-span architecture. The brick facades, partially coated, and the hollow or flat tile roofs characterize the whole, complemented by a roofed roof turret.

In 1619, the estate passed through marriage to the Protestant family Vivant de Launay, descendants of Geoffroy de Vivant. Henri de Vivant, a cavalry brigadier, abjured Protestantism in 1685, as evidenced by the coat of arms carved on the porterie. The castle underwent two major phases of transformation: in the 17th century (northern logis, body of entry, agricultural buildings), and in the 19th century, where the southern house was reconstructed or profoundly redesigned, probably according to the plans of architect Lafargue (1836).

The inner courtyard, framed by the two houses, opposes the courtyard of the communes, closed to the west by stables and to the south by a pillar gate leading to the park. The agricultural parts, made of brick and hollow tile, date mostly from the 19th century, while the north wing, transformed in the 20th century, hosts a farm. The facades and roofs of the castle and its communes have been protected since 2004, with the exception of the portal vantals.

The ensemble illustrates the evolution of a Protestant seigneury that became Catholic, marked by reconstructions linked to fires and adaptations to modern agricultural uses. The illegible coat of arms of the pediment and the original symmetry of the buildings (visible on the plan of 1824) bear witness to its past prestige.

External links