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Base Mérimée: Monuments historiques · France

Ancien château

Aulnay, Charente-Maritime, France

The record

Designation
Historic monument, registered (inscrit), in part
Protection
inscrit MH partiellement
Extent of protection
Tour : inscription par arrêté du 23 février 1925
Protection dates
1925/02/23 : inscrit MH
Type
château
Main period of construction
13e siècle
Ownership
propriété de la commune
Commune
Aulnay
Département
Charente-Maritime
Region
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Country
France
Coordinates
46.01978, -0.34611
Mérimée reference
PA00104602

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

5 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1621 map "Carte du Pais d'Aunis Ville et Gouvernement de la Rochelle." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

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This record on the Ministère de la Culture's POP platform ↗

The Ministère de la Culture's notice

De l'ancien château des seigneurs d'Aulnay ne subsiste qu'une tour, dite tour du donjon. Le château existait encore au début du 17e siècle, tombant en ruine peu à peu. A la Révolution, il sert de carrière pour les constructions. Vers 1820, une seconde tour existait encore, dite tour Saint-Louis. Ce château-fort avait été bâti par les vicomtes d'Aulnay. Pendant la guerre de Cent ans, il a été occupé par les Anglais, assiégé et pris par Dugesclin. Pendant les guerres de Religion, il a été disputé par les Protestants et les Catholiques. Louis XIII est venu l'occuper. Le donjon subsistant comprend un rez-de-chaussée qui a servi de prison communale, un premier et second étage voûtés en coupole, un troisième coupé par la charpente et un quatrième étage dont il ne reste que l'amorce du chemin de ronde.

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Of the former castle of the lords of Aulnay there remains only a tower, called the keep tower. The castle still existed at the beginning of the 17th century, falling into ruin little by little. At the Revolution, it served as a quarry for construction. Around 1820, a second tower still existed, called the Saint-Louis tower. This castle-fort had been built by the viscounts of Aulnay. During the Hundred Years War, it was occupied by the English, besieged and taken by Dugesclin. During the Wars of Religion, it was disputed by Protestants and Catholics. Louis XIII came to occupy it. The remaining keep comprises a ground floor which served as communal prison, first and second floors vaulted with barrel vaults, a third floor cut by the roof structure and a fourth floor of which there remains only the beginning of the wall-walk.

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Base Mérimée, Ministère de la Culture, data last updated 2026-09-17, reused under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab). Record text is reproduced unchanged. Ministère de la Culture · Licence Ouverte 2.0
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