A little history of Gargilesse castle

The castle nowadays houses modern art exhibitions. The postern dates back to the 13th century, it's the only vestige of the medieval fortress.

The first lords were the seigneurs de Gargilesse; then in the 12th century the fief fell to the old family of Naillac; they kept it for 3 centuries.

At that time, the seigneurie fell within the jurisdiction of Châteauroux's baronny: Hugues de Naillac paid homage for his Gargilesse fief to André de Chauvigny.

Pierre IV de Naillac gave the seigneurie to the Prie family in 1389, and it fell to the Châteauneuf and the Rochefort families by marriage.

In the 17th century, René du Bost de Breuil, lord of Broutet, owned Gargilesse; his descendants kept the castle until the end of the 19th century.

But let's talk about the episode which ruined our castle: it was during the Fronde.

In 1650, sir Broutet, who took side for the prince de Condé, was hidden behind the fortress. Few days later, count de Saint-Aignan's troops besieged the stronghold. Gosh!

A cannon blast destroyed a part of the castle. Soldiers resisted, but not long: the 90 men and 150 horses were starving to death, so they were forced to surrender the day after. The fortress was entirely demolished and burnt...