En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de Pugny, in Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre (Deux-Sèvres), was built as early as the early Middle Ages on an escarpment; the rectangular curtain wall, some one hundred metres long, originally had imposing corner towers that have since disappeared. The ensemble notably included the Tour de la Boulangerie (Bakehouse Tower), equipped with several ovens and a vaulted passage, a five-storey keep demolished in 1953, a large 16th-century gateway, and separate buildings for the stables (40 horses) and the servants' quarters. A major restoration took place in the mid-16th century under Guy de Sainte-Maure, as attested by armorial stones dated 1557. The seigneury passed notably through the families of Coloigne (late 13th century), Appelvoisin, Sainte-Maure (around 1500), Le Tellier de Louvois (1694), Crussol d'Uzès (1716) and Mauroy (1731), Jean-Denis Mauroy, who died in 1818, being the last lord before the Revolution. Set on fire by the Republicans in August 1792, the château was subsequently sold as national property (bien national). Now privately owned, it is not open to visitors, but a rehabilitation programme is being considered to restore its former splendour.