Château de Parthenay

The castle is located north of a north-south oriented platform, sinking into a loop of the Thouet which it dominates to the east, and to the west of the commune of Parthenay, in the French department of Deux-Sèvres. It controlled the crossroads of the old roads from Poitiers to Nantes and from Thouars to Niort.

The first traces of human occupation on the castle site date back to around the 10th and 12th centuries. During the first half of the 13th century (from 1227), the first constructions for military use appeared. The complex was fortified in the following years. The castle underwent further modifications in the 15th century. It was razed in 1830. The Larchevêque, very powerful Poitevin lords, were at the origin of the site which retained all its importance from the 12th to the 15th century, given the number of princely and royal sieges it experienced.

The remains of the castle stand at the northern tip of a large platform approximately 440 m long by 130 to 180 m wide, where the difference in elevation with the valley is most marked. The rest of the upper enclosure is occupied by bourgeois houses forming a closed village. Under the immediate command of the place, a rich market town developed in the valley. Of the castle, only remains are left, including a round tower. The old seigniorial castle is in ruins, but most of the walls and towers still emerge. A large round tower, perhaps the keep, has been restored and is one of the best-preserved remains. A good part of the city walls also remains, which have been reduced in height. On Boulevard de la Meilleraye, there are many traces of these ramparts and horseshoe-shaped towers. A second enclosure, which reinforced the first on the east and west, is still visible at the level of Rue du Moulin for the west and at the level of the calvary on Boulevard de la Meilleraye for the east, where the foundations of a horseshoe-shaped tower remain. We must not forget the beautiful Saint-Jacques gate, which is one of the old entrance châtelets of the city. Equipped with two almond-shaped towers and machicolations, it overlooks an ogival vaulted entrance. On each side of this gate, there are beautiful remains of the ramparts overlooking the Thouet. At the foot of the citadel, after crossing the Thouet on a fortified bridge that has retained two almond-shaped towers, stretches the great pilgrimage route, the Vaux Saint-Jacques.

The remains of the castle are classified by decree of September 2, 1994.

Châteaux, manoirs, logis des Deux-Sèvres, éditions Patrimoines et Médias 1993, (ISBN 2-910137-04-X) Frédéric Chassebœuf, Châteaux en Poitou-Charentes, Prahecq, Patrimoines et Médias, coll. « Belles visites », 2006, 173 p. (ISBN 2-910137-91-0, OCLC 71887670)

Parthenay Ramparts of Parthenay

Architectural resources: Mérimée Structurae

Portal of castles in France Portal of Deux-Sèvres Portal of French historic monuments