Château du Puy-du-Fou, Medieval fortress in Les Epesses, France

Château du Puy-du-Fou is a long stone building in Les Epesses, Vendée, with a blue-washed facade. Its central block is lower, under a steep roof with a tall chimney and a flag, while a taller pavilion with a pyramidal roof and projecting entrance rises on the right. Rows of rectangular windows line the facade, and a balustrade with small urns runs along the roofline of the right wing. The present building is a Renaissance remodelling of a 15th-century fortified castle, built by architects Jean Masneret and René Guitton for François II du Puy du Fou.

The present château is a Renaissance rebuilding of a 15th-century fortified castle, commissioned by François II du Puy du Fou (1496-1548) from the Le Mans architects Jean Masneret and René Guitton. Construction was never finished, and the château was sold in 1659. On 21 January 1794, during the Vendée War, a colonne infernale under General Boucret burned the château and the surrounding villages. It was classified as a monument historique in 1974 and 1986.

The château's name comes from the Puy du Fou family, and its motto "C'est à jamais" is the theme of the show La Renaissance du Château, staged inside since 2014. The site has hosted La Cinéscénie, Philippe de Villiers' historical spectacle, since 1977. The château was bought by the Vendée departmental council in 1977, which ran an ecomuseum here until its collections moved to L'Historial de la Vendée in 2006.

The château stands in Les Epesses, in the Vendée, and is reached from the surrounding roads; the fortress wall with its round towers and wooden hoarding is the first element seen on approach. The building was remodeled from October 2013 to April 2014 to receive the Puy du Fou park's show La Renaissance du Château, which takes visitors inside. The site is a classified monument historique, listed in 1974 and 1986.

The château was bought by the Vendée departmental council in 1977, which set up an ecomuseum there with state support, in the spirit of Georges-Henri Rivière's museography; its collections moved to L'Historial de la Vendée in 2006. Since 1977 the site has hosted La Cinéscénie, Philippe de Villiers' historical show on Vendée's history.