The château de Cognac was, among others, where Richard the Lion Heart gave his son in marriage to Aurélie de Cognac in 1190 and where François 1st was born. He spent part of his childhood there and returned there often. The court led a life in the Italian style where poets and musicians were welcome. Clément Marot stayed there. After being enlarged and modernised in the spirit of the Renaissance, the château was at the height of its glory and Cognac was a true royal town. The Wars of Religion led to the château being gradually abandoned and even sold as National Property under the Revolution. In 1795, baron Otard bought the château as the headquarters of his cognac house.
The salle au Casque [helmet room] with its monumental fireplace surmounted by the coat of arms of the Valois, the logis du Gouverneur [governor's lodge] which is reached via a turret, the salle des gardes [guard room] and the salle des Etats [state room] with its ribbed vault and doors bearing the graffiti carved by English prisoners during the Hundred Years' War.
