Castle of Olbreuse

The Castle of Olbreuse is situated in Usseau, Deux-Sèvres, in western France. It is thought to have been built in the eleventh century but documentation for this supposition is lacking.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 . It was then, in 1702, that King 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 assisted partisans’ resistance against Catholic oppression. Many Huguenots fled France after the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685, when non-Catholics were offered the choice of conversion or exile. Those who did not convert voluntarily, met with increasing oppression, confiscation of their properties and worse, including violence.

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