Alexandre-IV Desmier-D'olbreuse

The castle and Protestantism

The Castle of Olbreuse is known for its affiliation with Protestantism, specifically Calvinism, in the sixteenth century. At the time the castle belonged to a branch of the Desmier family, the Desmier of Olbreuse. In the early eighteenth century the castle belonged to Éléonore Desmier d'Olbreuse, daughter of Alexandre Desmier of Olbreuse (1608–1660). It was then, in 1702, that Louis XIV put the castle into receivership to punish its owner for aiding Protestants. Since the conversion of the Desmier family to Calvinism, they had taken part in the religious wars against Catholics.

In 1685, Alexandre, the brother of Éléonore, lived at Olbreuse with his wife, who was the great-granddaughter of the poet Agrippa d'Aubigné, of Protestant background. Thanks to the protection of the House of Brunswick to which his sister Eleanor belonged through her marriage to the German Prince George William of Lüneburg-Celle (1624–1705), he took the initiative to temporarily hide Protestants. One of them, the teacher of Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon told the story in his diary of the period. He writes of Alexandre Desmier "this veritable nurturer was not only support and a retreat for me and for you, but for all the people who came to ask for help and retreat during the persecution." In 1707, the receivership of Louis XIV was lifted and the castle was returned to Éléonore. On the death of the latter in 1722, the castle’s new owner was her daughter Sophia Dorothea of Celle, wife of King George I of Great Britain. She died four years later leaving the property to her children, George II of England and Queen Sophia of Prussia.

The castle and the family Prevot of Gagemont In 1727 Sophie's husband, Frederick William I, made inquiries and learned that the castle reported an income of 2110 pounds a year. Both heirs decided to "outright gift" for 40,000 pounds the castle to their Olbreuse cousins of the Prévot de Gagemont family, who were Catholics. This transaction was authorized by Louis XV, 17 September 1729 in a decree:

"Our beloved trusty Alexandre Prevost, lord of Gagemont ... has exposed us humbly having the honor of belonging as a cousin to our beloved deceased and beloved cousin, Madame Eleanor, Duchess of Brunswick Lüneburg maternal grandmother of our beloved king, brother King of Great Britain, and our very dear sister the Queen of Prussia that as heirs of this princess, of the land and lordship of Olbreuse, located in our kingdom, the land of Aunis today belongs: it is by this consideration and put Olbreuse said land in the family of the princess it has pleased our dear brother King of Great Britain and our very dear sister of the queen Prussia to donate to exhibitor (...) ".

It remained in that family until 1871; the last owner, Madame de Nossay, had no heirs.

Secrets and myths surrounding the castle

Olbreuse since its creation been the subject of much controversy. Some people from the local area retell stories that have passed from generation to generation that the castle was burned 27 times. The existence of a salt cellar inside the property is also debated. This theory is very likely true, since salt was widely used for food preservation. Other statements say that the southwest tower imprisons a murderess, a story denied by contemporary owners. Underground tunnels were built below the castle, known by everyone who lives nearby. These underground tunnels through the village of Olbreuse they were prolonged to the Mauzé Mignon (located 6.6km from Olbreuse). Other tunnels went underground to the church of Our Lady of Dey (located south of the town of Prin-Deyrançon about 7 kilometers from Olbreuse) and some even came out in the woods of Olbreuse. These underground tunnels were used during the French religious wars to allow Protestants to hide and to flee. They were well built, and it was sometimes even possible to stand up. At present, these underground tunnels are impassable or even destroyed.

The Desmier d'Olbreuse

A family of military tradition, they wore a coats of arms of prestigious simplicity: "quartered azure and silver four lilies in each color in the other," in other words an azure fleur de lys in each silver quarter and a silver fleur de lys in each of the azure quarters. Tradition has it that this shield them was granted them by King John the Good at the battle of Poitiers. The genealogical dictionary of the families of Poitou by Henri Beauchet-Filleau finds their traces as far back as the 14th century.

As far back as can be traced, the castle has been owned by a branch of the family Desmier: The Desmier of Olbreuse. In the early seventeenth century, the castle owner Alexander Desmier d'Olbreuse (1608–1660) married in first nuptials Jacqueline Poussard De Vandre. From their union were born four children, Eleanor. He then married Jeanne Beranger Du Beugnon, and had two sons, Henri and Jean. The children of the first marriage like the ones from the second marriage died without heirs, except Eleanor. At his death in 1722, she left Olbreuse to her daughter, Sophia Dorothea. She was the wife of George I, King of Great Britain but she died in 1726; the castle became property of her children, George II and Queen Sophia of Prussia. In 1729, the castle was owned by the Prevot of Gagemont family until 1871. Later the castle belonged to Baron Charles Desmier of Olbreuse until 1915. His daughter Naomi inherited it and owned it until her death in 1964. Upon her death the castle returned to her daughter, Christiane Desmier of Olbreuse and her husband Félix Maingueneau, who owned it until 1996. It now belongs to the Boscals de Reals (fr) family.