Château de Piogé

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

History

This fortress had been destroyed for the first time by Philippe Auguste during his conquest of Poitou in 1207. The keep, built on a hillside, is enclosed by walls forming a rectangular courtyard flanked by corner towers. It is itself supported by rectangular buttresses to the south, a round tower in the north-west corner and a second in the north-east corner. A hall with arcades in the basement and traces of wall painting are noteworthy. This 12th-century keep was probably rebuilt in the 14th century. A rectangular chapel opening through an ogival door is placed to the east of the keep and may date from the 13th century. The keep becoming too dilapidated, a main dwelling was constructed between two flanking towers of the curtain wall with a wall-walk. This main dwelling of the late 15th or early 16th century was refurbished in the 18th and 20th centuries. The small courtyard situated between the main dwelling and the keep is closed to the west by a gate tower with an ogival arch, probably from the 13th century. It is preceded by a courtyard of outbuildings placed between the rock and the curtain wall, dated to the 18th century. An entrance gatehouse (two round towers linked by a round-arched door topped with machicolations) closes off this courtyard. Outside the enclosure, below the curtain wall, there is a circular dovecote.