Château de Vendrennes

The Château de Vendrennes is a medieval castle located in the commune of Vendrennes, in the Vendée department of the Pays de la Loire region in western France (coordinates: 46°49′37″ N, 1°07′25″ W). It is a private property and has been listed as a Monument historique (historical monument) since 12 June 1991.

The castle retains its distinctly medieval character. Its core is a square Romanesque keep (donjon) of the rare “Niortais” type: a square tower with solid round towers at the corners and solid semi-circular buttresses on at least two sides. In late 1989, remains of a Romanesque church were discovered within the fortified enclosure, confirming the site’s early medieval origins (likely 12th century).

Historically, the château was the seat of a castellany under the Viscounty of Thouars. In 1230 it belonged to the Marquise de Mauléon. During the 14th and 15th centuries it passed through the hands of the Belleville and Clisson families and was temporarily confiscated by the French crown during the Hundred Years’ War. From the early 16th century until 1789 it belonged to the lords of Mouchamps (who mainly resided at the nearby Château du Parc-Soubise).

During the French Revolution the castle was seized as national property. Its sale was delayed by the War in the Vendée. On 21 February 1794 a column under General Duquesnoy massacred around sixty women, children and elderly people in Vendrennes. The château itself was set on fire the same year.

Today the Château de Vendrennes remains a private residence and an important example of early medieval military architecture in the Vendée.