Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Baugé Castle, located in Saint-Cyr-la-Lande in Les Deux-Sèvres, is a 17th-century building whose history is marked by successive changes. Originally owned by Barro at the beginning of the 16th century, it passed into the hands of the Pidoux and was acquired by the family of La Ville in the middle of the same century. The latter, now La-Ville-Baugé, undertook major reconstruction work after a fire in 1645, completed around 1687 as indicated by the date engraved above the entrance door. The castle, as it stands today, consists of a body of central houses flanked by pavilions, surrounded by outbuildings forming a quadrilateral. Its facades, roofs, staircase and two painted fireplaces (one in the living room, the other in a bedroom) have been protected since 1989.

The family of La-Ville-Baugé played a notable role in local history, obtaining its letters of nobility in 1653 thanks to Uriel de La Ville, Senechal de Thouars, who defended the city against assailants. Among its most illustrious members are Pierre-Louis de La Ville-Baugé, Salesian leader during the Revolution, general officer of the Catholic and Royal Army alongside Henri de La Rochejaquelein. The castle retains remarkable architectural elements, such as triangular pediments, chains around the bays, and a two-door entrance gate. The painted decorations of the fireplaces, dating from the 17th century, represent floral motifs and rinceaux on a brown background, testimonies of the art of the era.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1989 for its interior and exterior elements, Baugé Castle illustrates the evolution of a seigneurial residence in Poitou, transformed over the centuries. Its dovecote, built in 1645, and the murals of the chimneys offer an overview of the techniques and way of life of the provincial aristocracy under the Old Regime. Today, the site remains a preserved example of the civil architecture of the Great Century in New Aquitaine, although its access and current uses (visits, rentals) are not specified in the available sources.

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