Jonzac

Jonzac grew around two heights above the Seugne valley: the castle on Mont Balaguier and the religious quarter on Mont-Guimard. Houses formed part of the medieval town's defences beside its gates. The earlier castle was destroyed during the Hundred Years' War, and the Sainte-Maure lords rebuilt their stronghold in the fifteenth century. Its twin-towered entrance expressed the defensive role of a lordly centre within war-torn Saintonge.

The castle changed character during the seventeenth century. Léon de Sainte-Maure enlarged it into a more comfortable residence and embellished the courtyard with terracotta decoration. Louis XIV and Mazarin stayed there in 1659, showing the continuing place of this provincial residence in aristocratic and royal travel. Protestant Jonzac had also experienced the Wars of Religion, requiring another period of repair and rebuilding. The castle escaped confiscation during the Revolution. By the early nineteenth century it had passed to Antoine-Charles Tardieu, marquis de Maleissye, who served as mayor from 1810 to 1813.