PARK OF THE CHÂTEAU DE L'HERMENAULT
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Parc et château de l'Hermenault, listed as a historic monument.
The Hermenault park and château are listed as historic monuments. The regular 30-hectare park was laid out in the 17th and 18th centuries. A former fortified priory attached to Maillezais Abbey, which became a bishopric in the 14th century, L'Hermenault priory became the summer residence of the bishops. During the Renaissance, Monseigneur d'Estissac transformed the site into a summer residence. His secretary, Rabelais, stayed here, and is said to have sent him the first plane trees in the park from Rome. They form a remarkable alignment overlooking the terraces: four 110 m-long grassed terraces connect the château's platform to the Longèves river, thanks to an ingenious network of channels centered on the hemicyclic water mirror. A vegetable garden and a colossal barn with 17th-century Philibert Delorme-style framework add to the charm of a pastoral stroll. An ancient keep and a powder tower transformed into a dovecote bear witness to the era. Destroyed during the Wars of Religion, the château was restored in the 17th century by the new bishop of La Rochelle, Monseigneur de Sully Béthune. The site became the summer residence of the bishops of La Rochelle, who built the arcaded 18th-century Logis des Dames. The Longèves canal, bordered by a 19th-century wash house and water mill, a stone bridge and a 17th-century horse pool complete this rural tour.
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