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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Henri IV's well is a former water well located in the heart of Coutras, Gironde, on Place Ernest-Barraud, near the town hall. Built in 1551 as a decorative element of Coutras Castle (now the only vestige), this hexagonal Renaissance-style well is two metres in diameter. It is decorated with six doric columns supporting a sculpted entanglement, surmounted by a scale dome and an ionic lantern. His nickname comes from his role as "witness" to the Battle of Coutras (20 Oct. 1587), where Henry IV defeated Duke Anne of Joyeuse.

Ranked a historic monument by decree of 8 July 1911, the well was originally dependent on a castle, the construction of which began in 1528 and continued in the 17th and 18th centuries. The sculptures of his frieze alternate between shields (now erased) and allegorical motifs, as an arm holding a sharp crown of knots, accompanied by an inscription on a banner. Owned by the commune, it symbolizes both Renaissance architecture and a key episode of the Wars of Religion in Aquitaine.

The historical sources, including the Mérimée bases and the communal archives, confirm its initial location in the enclosure of the castle, destroyed in 1731. The well, although modified over the centuries, retains original stylistic elements, such as its ion columnettes and its scale decoration. Its ranking among historical monuments underlines its heritage importance, both for its aesthetics and for its memorial value linked to Henry IV and local history.

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