Oiron - Château d'Oiron

Approaching the village of Orion - power made visible!

Charles VII of France known in French as "le Bien-Servi", what is "the Well-Served", must have been indeed well served, as in 1449 he gave the village and the forest of Oiron to Guillaume Gouffier, who was his "valet de chambre".

From then on the Gouffier family played an interesting role in the following centuries. Guillaume Gouffier had a château built here, but it was his son Artus, a diplomat for Francis I, who, impressed by the Italian Renaissance, updated it to the "new style". His wife Helene de Hengest was responsible for the construction of the large collegiate church, seen next to the château.

Artus´ son Claude Gouffier served as "Grand Écuyer de France" to Henry II. Artus was a famous collector, founded a "Wunderkammer", was married five times and was the model for "Marquis de Carabas" from the story "Puss in Boots" by Charles Perrault.

Even genious Blaise Pascal, a very close friend of Charlotte Gouffier, spent considerable time at the Château d'Oiron.

The Château d'Oiron was sold to Madame de Montespan, Louis XIV´s mistress, who lived here, when her career had ended. During the French Revolution the château was ransacked by Revolutionaries. Finally the Goverment of France French took possession in the 1930s. Now here is a museum dedicated to contemporary art, that was closed, when I stopped here.