La Motte Castle

La Motte Castle, locally known as Château de la Motte, lies in the town of Château-Renard in the Loiret department in France.

There are 2 castles in the town of Château-Renard: the ruined medieval Château-Renard Castle, atop a wooded hill above the Ouanne River, and the 17th-century La Motte Castle in the valley below. Their histories are, of course, connected, and although the present La Motte is younger than Château-Renard, its foundation is actually older.

The first La Motte Castle dates back to the mid-6th century. At that time, it was a wooden fortification, and the settlement was called Ouanne. The hill where Château-Renard's castle now stands was occupied by a Benedictine priory. In 937, Fromond I was established as Viscount of Sens by Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris. A year later, Fromond was exiled to Ouanne by King Louis IV for offending the Archbishop of Sens. Fromond then rebuilt La Motte Castle, but probably still in wood.

When Fromond died in 948, he was succeeded by his son, Renard I. Renard also did not have much love for the clergy and often pillaged local abbeys, including the priory at Ouanne. This led him to be exiled to Ouanne in 961, just like his father. Having earlier seized the Ouanne priory, he then built a stone castle on the priory's site, leaving La Motte for his new castle, and also changed the settlement's name from Ouanne to Château-Renard.

As Renard's descendants continued pillaging clergy possessions and disobeying their overlords, King Louis VI, 'the Fat,' destroyed Château-Renard Castle in 1110. In 1121, he ordered the Courtenay family to rebuild La Motte Castle and to monitor the Renards. Their castle had an octagonal plan around a courtyard, surrounded by a moat fed by the Ouanne River.

Ownership passed through several families until it was acquired by the Protestant Coligny family in 1531. The medieval La Motte was destroyed in 1561 during the French Wars of Religion. Louise de Coligny, widow of William the Silent, had the current castle built on the foundations of its ruined predecessor around 1609. Several other owners followed, and the castle was restored in the second half of the 18th century.

During World War II, German forces occupied the castle.

Today, La Motte Castle is a private residence and cannot be visited, except during heritage days. It can be seen from the public road, but only with difficulty, sadly enough.

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