Château de la Rochecourbon
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Château de la Rochecourbon is a large château in the Charente-Maritime département of France. It is in Saint-Porchaire between Saintes and Rochefort. Its name is just as frequently written Château de la Roche Courbon.
Built in the 15th Century, upon a rocky outcrop in the midst of marshland, the original castle was transformed into an elegant residence by Jean-Louis de Courbon, during the 17th Century. As the marquis would not flee during the French Revolution, the château was not sold. His daughter Charlotte married an aide de camp of Napoleon. Because upkeep was so expensive, however, the château became abandoned during the following hundred years.
The property is entered via the 'Porte des Lions', an imposing 17th Century edifice. Inside the moat is the 'keep', an ancient machicolated tower.
From the Renaissance terrace, a two-stage staircase leads to the splendid French gardens with a series of terraces and balustrades. The gardens include orchard, flower garden, geometrical flower beds and lawns surrounding a small lake ('mirror pool'). The River Bruant flows through the gardens, feeding the water features. Beyond that, an ornamental staircase leads to higher ground, on the far side of the river. In the 'keep' is a museum containing prehistoric objects.
In the grounds are some stone age cave dwellings, at the base of sandstone cliffs, in woodland close by the river Bruant. Prehistoric finds from the site are housed in the 'keep'.
Pierre Loti (1850 - 1923) spent holidays with his sister in the Saintonge region. On his excursions, he (re)discovered the Château de la Rochecourbon, in an abandoned and ruined state, overgrown with brushwood. Benefiting from his fame, Pierre Loti brought the château to notice by calling it the "sleeping beauty of the forest" and launched a public appeal to save it and its forest.
Paul Chénereau (1869 - 1967), a local man, bought the château and restored it to its former splendour. It is actually his daughter and son-in-law, who now live there.
Today, the Château de la Rochecourbon is open to visitors and is a favourite among marrying couples, for wedding photographs.
[edit] References
- This article is based on a translation of an article from the French Wikipedia.
