The Château de Pitray (built in the 17th century) is in the village of Saint-Seurin-de-Prats. The name comes from Pic du Roy, or king’s peak, since the house was built on an ancient tumulus also known as Mothe de Prats, signifying that it was on land a little higher than the plain.
It belonged to the Puch family before being acquired by Gabriel de Ségur, seigneur of Pitray. From there it passed on to Pierre de Ségur, son of Thomas, co-seigneur of Pitray, and to his daughter Henriette, married to Alexandre de Puch in 1715, whose descendants remained in possession of the property until 1900. Pierre de Ségur, chevalier of Pitray and a lieutenant in the Koenigsmark Cavalry Regiment, distinguished himself during the dragonnades, or persecutions directed against Protestants during the reign of Louis XIV.
Originally the main part of the house consisted of two wings of equal size in the shape of perpendicular rectangles, delimiting the courtyard opening out onto the Dordogne River. Pitray became the property of Doctor Samuel Amanieux at the end of the 19th century and in 1905, a Bordeaux architect joined the two wings by a massive flat-roofed building and an Italianate terrace lined with pilasters.
Over the last 25 years, the Château de Pitray has become a venue appreciated for organizing business meetings and all types of seminars, conferences, and especially concerts.
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.