Normandie Castles: Château de Coulonges

Neo-renaissance and neo-gothic castle in Normandy. In the 19th century residence of the descendants of Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr (French general in the First Empire).
Chapel attached to the side with an external spiral staircase. The courtyard and park side each show beautiful, curved staircases.

Margravine Gouvion Saint-Cyr was widowed early and lived alone in Coulonges until the beginning of the Second World War. In 1940 she had to leave the castle; for one year it was occupied by German troops and "useless" returned to the margravine. She did not want to go back, however, and died in 1949; her grandchildren inherited the castle and the land it belonged to.

In the 70s first the entire inventory was sold, later the castle. Since that time it has been broom-cleaned and was no longer inhabited.
In recent years there have been several changes of ownership. A #renovation was in preparation, but was not pursued further for reasons of cost. In March 2020 Coulonges was still unused. A part of the more than 50 hectares of forest and meadow land is leased or rented out.