A fire broke out at the Château de Médavy, near the eponymous commune in the Orne, on the night of September 24 to 25, 2025. The disaster was brought under control in the morning but two thirds of the building were very damaged, despite the intervention of 90 firefighters mobilized throughout the operation. No one injured is to be deplored.
The alert was given at 12:41 a.m. by the goalkeeper. The firefighters arrived quickly on the spot and deployed five spears, including two aerials, drawing the water directly from the château’s moat. Around six o’clock, the fire was circumscribed, but the western half of the building had been seriously damaged. The roof collapsed on the first floor. The firefighters stayed for several hours to prevent any recovery of fire.
Erected in the 18th century at the request of the marshal of France Jacques-Léonor Rouxel de Grncey, the castle was built on the bases of an old fortress of which the moat and two towers remain, Saint-Pierre and Saint-Jean-Baptiste, spared by fire. With an area of 1,500 m², the building had been acquired in 2004 by a couple of individuals Jean-Louis and Béatrice Charon, who have led a catering site for twenty-one years. The last renovated part was the wing is, precisely the only spared fire. Classified as historic monuments since 1989, the castle welcomes visits, participated in the Heritage Days and organized events devoted to the 18th century and in the Napoleonic era.
Several personalities and institutions have supported the owners. The prefect Hervé tormented assured them of the “Support for State Services, including Regional Directorate for Cultural Affairs (DRAC), to support them in the upcoming stages”qualifying the castle “Eassembled by Ornais heritage”. The Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, said on X that “The Ministry of Culture will be alongside the owners to restore this building”. The Heritage Foundation, which had already put forward a donation campaign to complete the restorations, contacted the owners. Olivier Gronier, his regional delegate in Normandy, spoke of the launch of a kitty and indicated that funds could be released quickly. At the same time, an investigation was opened to determine the origin of the fire.
Of the 600 pieces of the collection, a game was destroyed, but several threatened works could have been sheltered by firefighters. Certain collections, notably of contemporary art, were kept in the towers, including that of Saint-Pierre.
The disaster recalls other recent fires of castles. In the Eure, the Serquigny castle was practically destroyed on the evening of the New Year 2023-2024. Registered with the historic monuments, he benefited in 2024 from aid of € 50,000 in the Heritage Foundation. More recently, the Château de Cosse, in Haute-Vienne, was damaged by lightning: the rapid rescue intervention had not saved the roof. In January 2025, the Château de Cussigny, in Côte-d’Or, also classified as a historic monument and being restored, was completely destroyed by a fire.
