Château de Dissay

The castle was built, on an older edifice, at the end of the 15th century by Pierre d'Amboise, Bishop of Poitiers and brother of Cardinal d'Amboise, minister of Louis XII. It served as a residence for the Bishops of Poitiers until the Revolution in 1793. It was Hugues de Combarel, Bishop of Poitiers, who had been authorized in 1434 by King Charles VII to build a hotel in this place equipped with "walls, moats, palaces, drawbridges, portals, towers, sentry boxes, barbicans and other fortifications, as he saw fit." During the Third War of Religion, Admiral de Coligny stormed the castle in 1569, before going on to besiege Poitiers. Traces of bullets remain on the north tower. The towers served as prisons. The Abbot of Saint-Cyran was detained there. After 1850, Count Fruchard, who had just bought the castle, undertook an architectural renovation, both for the castle and for the church, using the stained glass windows and shutters of the collegiate church, which had been "dismantled." The central part was rebuilt between 1900 and 1905. The architect was M. Ardion, who replaced the statue of Saint-Michel and the d'Amboise coat of arms at the entrance. The castle, outbuildings, and moats were classified as a historical monument by decree of May 9, 1989, while the gardens have been listed since August 21, 1967.

The entire castle is in a late Gothic, early Renaissance style; two parts are from the 18th century, on the north-northeast side and the south-southwest side. It forms a large rectangle entirely surrounded by moats. Two of the towers are intact. The moats follow the contour of the corner towers, which gives them great amplitude. The bridge over the moats was formerly, according to period engravings, a simple wooden footbridge serving as a drawbridge. The doors resemble those of the Château de Chaumont-sur-Loire where Pierre d'Amboise had been raised. Inside the keep are beautiful stone fireplaces and a stone staircase. From the old chapel of the college of canons, founded by Pierre d'Amboise, remain pillars of this chapel, murals, made around 1450, representing King David and the location of the tomb of this bishop, demolished during the Revolution. The outbuildings are in the 18th-century "œil-de-bœuf" style, with Mansard roofs; the stables and sheds are entirely vaulted. The Bishop of Poitiers from the first quarter of the 18th century, Jean-Claude de La Poype de Vertrieu, enjoyed visiting it.

The terrace forms a French-style garden surrounded by a water parterre. The vases are copied from those of the Latona parterre at Versailles, and the lions come from a villa in Istria. The park is said to have been designed by Le Nôtre, or at least it is certainly in his style, with the three avenues, the eight-avenue roundabout, and the six-avenue roundabout, which are found in all the parks he designed. The one at Dissay is bordered by a canal that leads to a charming Louis XV-style pavilion. This folly or fabrique served as a music room. The stone staircase, with its purity of lines and most harmonious form, is also in Louis XV style.

Archdiocese of Poitiers List of historical monuments of Vienne List of castles of Vienne

Resource related to architecture: Mérimée

Official website of the Hotel, Spa, Restaurant. Portal of French castles Portal of Vienne Portal of French historical monuments