Built in the late 11th century, Château d’Eck, is located in the commune of Cadaujac. It is one of the most beautiful medieval châteaux in the Bordeaux area. Flanked by four towers and an outer wall several metres tall, it also features admirable machicolations and loopholes. King William VIII of England established the reputation of its wines. His son, Edward, gave the château to the Church in 1287. The Bishops of Bordeaux lived there.
In 1302, Bishop Bertrand de Goth, one of the most famous figures in the history of Bordeaux, spent three years there prior to becoming Pope Clement V in 1305. The estate was confiscated and nationalised during the French Revolution. It was sold in 1816 to François d’Eck, after whom the château is named. Frédéric Gonet acquired this majestic property in 1999 and undertook an ambitious renovation of thechâteau. Vineyards was also replanted to confirm the estate’s winegrowing vocation going back nearly 800 years.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.