Maisons médiévales
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maisons médiévales, located in La Réole (Gironde), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- La Réole, Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.5814, -0.0377
- Mérimée Reference
- PA33000060
In the heart of La Réole, these listed medieval houses reveal the secrets of rare Gascon civil architecture: sculpted buttresses, geminated bays and mysterious ammunition lockers built into the walls.
History
Nestling in the urban fabric of La Réole, one of the oldest bastides in the Gironde, these medieval houses are an exceptional and extremely rare example of medieval civil architecture in Aquitaine. Where other towns have only preserved fragments, La Réole offers almost complete elevations, integrated into the town's old fortified enclosure, forming a living frontier between the urban space and the town's defences. What radically distinguishes these houses from mere remains is their dual nature: both bourgeois dwellings and defensive elements. The exterior façade of the main plot, punctuated by three powerful buttresses linked by semi-circular arches, is more reminiscent of a military structure than an ordinary dwelling. The large brackets that crown the arches suggest the existence of a defensive balcony - a corbelled hourd - such as was found on castles in the region at the same time. The interior holds an even more disturbing surprise: on the first floor, a series of large niches cut into the north and south walls, initially topped by a cornice with billet modillions, would have served as ammunition lockers. This unusual layout suggests that the building served as a communal arsenal for the collective defence of the bastide. Over the centuries, the houses have undergone successive alterations - mullioned windows added in the 15th-16th centuries, cellar openings, domestic adaptations - without ever losing the essence of their medieval structure. Now listed as Historic Monuments since 2004, they remain inhabited or in use, giving them a rare and precious authenticity, far removed from the often aseptic museification. Discovering them is an ideal part of a walk through La Réole, a town perched on the right bank of the Garonne whose medieval heritage - Romanesque town hall, Benedictine priory, remains of the ramparts - is one of the most extensive in the Gironde.
Architecture
The two houses feature medieval civil architecture typical of south-west Aquitaine, built of local limestone, with a defensive logic omnipresent in the structural choices made. The exterior facade of the main house - facing outwards from the town - is organised around three massive buttresses linked by two arches, a composition reminiscent of the base of certain Gascon châteaux or the facades of chapter houses. Twin windows pierce the first level, bringing light and verticality to this austere elevation, while large projecting brackets mark the site of an old corbelled defensive balcony, known as a "hourd", designed to protect the foot of the walls in the event of an attack. The façade on the town side, which is more domestic, retains a large walled bay with a basket-handle arch, characteristic of the late Gothic style. The interior provides the most valuable information. On the first floor of the main house, the north and south walls feature a series of large, evenly-spaced niches, initially topped by a cornice supported by billet modillions - a ubiquitous Romanesque motif in 11th-12th-century religious architecture, transposed here for military or civilian use. This unique layout, interpreted as ammunition lockers, gives the interior space an almost liturgical rhythm, reminiscent of a nave or monastic cellar. The vaulted cellars, accessible via a corridor between the two plots, bear witness to the stratigraphic depth of the site and the functional links between the two built units.
Related Figures
Léo Drouyn — archéologue et dessinateur bordelais du XIXe siècle, premier à documenter scientifiquement ces maisons médiévalesAbbés bénédictins de La Réole — fondateurs du prieuré qui a structuré le développement urbain de la ville médiévaleÉdouard Ier d'Angleterre — roi d'Angleterre et duc d'Aquitaine qui contrôla La Réole et ses fortifications à la fin du XIIIe siècleCharles VII de France — sous son règne, La Réole fut définitivement rattachée à la couronne de France en 1451, marquant la fin de la période plantagenêt
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maisons médiévales located?
Maisons médiévales is located in La Réole, Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Maisons médiévales built?
Maisons médiévales dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maisons médiévales open to visitors?
Maisons médiévales is currently closed to visitors.
