Oiron - Saint-Maurice

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 collegiate church Saint-Maurice.

Knowing, that the village of Oiron has less than 1000 inhabitants, the church seems very large - and empty. This church served as the burial place for the Gouffier family. Four tombs with effigies can be found in the transept.