Surgères Historical Center

In the 11th century, the fortified camp established by the Count of Poitou was transformed into a castle by Hugues de Maingot. In the 12th century, this powerful family built a magnificent Romanesque church. The ramparts, razed during the Hundred Years' War, were rebuilt in an elliptical shape and reinforced by twenty towers in the 16th century. Hélène de Fonsèque, muse of Ronsard (of the Sonnets to Helen), was born there in 1546. Inside the enclosure, besides the lord's residence (which now serves as the town hall), an ancient tower rises at the Renaissance gate: at the entrance, the postern is surmounted by the guardhouse.