En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de Coulonges, in Saint-Savinien in Charente-Maritime, stands on a seigneury that was ceded to Jean de Léricon in 1425. Several noble families succeeded one another there, notably the Lebault family for about a century, then the Guibert family from 1649. Built around 1670 in a style still marked by Mannerism, the château was enlarged in the 18th century by René-Louis, Marquis de Sainte-Hermine, who had two return wings built; the work was interrupted by the Revolution, as the marquis had emigrated. Seized and sold as national property, the château was acquired by the banker Louis-Mathieu Faure, whose daughter brought it as her dowry in 1821 when she married the Marquis de Voyer d'Argenson; the present family acquired it in 1860. The ensemble consists of three detached buildings forming a U; the main building opens through a doorway framed by Tuscan columns, while the rear façade features a wide horseshoe-shaped flight of steps flanked by four sculpted lions, beneath dormer windows adorned with wild masks. A private property, it is not open to visitors.