The present Château, of a neo-Gothic style, was reconstructed mainly after 1820 on the vaulted foundations, still existing and visible at present, of an old medieval fortress founded in the 11th century by Arthaud de Mirambel.  At the time, the château was in fact known by the name of Mirambellum because it was built on an admirable point with a view of the banks of the Gironde as well as the hills of Médoc on one side, and the heights of Pons on the other.

Two centuries later – in the midst of the One Hundred Years War – Hertauld de Mirambel was a vassal of the King of England.  He broke away in 1242 to pay tribute to Saint-Louis after the glorious victories of Taillebourg and Saintes. The Château then fell to Bertold, a lord known for his noble and chivalrous character.  Finding himself at Mireambeau in 1259, Henry II, King of Engand, granted his knights all the liberties they enjoyed under King Richard, his uncle, and Kind John, his father. 

The Duc de Berry and Louis de Sancerre were received at Mirambeau to win back the fortified town, but the population refused, preferring to remain under the domination of the English who imposed less tax than the King of France.   From 1317 to 1396, the Château was inhabited by the Counts of Aunay, lords of Mortagne.  One them had a daughter, Louise de Clermont et de Mirambel, who married François de Montbron.  A descendant of the latter became County Councillor of Jarrie (Charente-Maritime).  Montbron sold it in 1415 to Jehan II of Herpedane.  Then Jehan III de Harpedane, Chamberlain to King Charles VI, Lord of Belleville, Cosnac and Mirambeau, married Marguerite de Valois (sister of the King of France) in 1427. 

Guy Harpedane de Belleville (who was involved in disputes at the high courts of justice) and Guy II Harpenade de Belleville, Lord of Mirambeau, succeeded each other at the castellany, which then became the property of Jacques de Pons, who married Françoise Harpenade de Belleville and and then Jacquette de Lansac. The latter gave birth to François de Pons who was first married to Françoise Geoffroy de Dampierre and then to Magdeleine du Fou around 1559.  Then came Armand d’Escodeca de Boisse who became the husband of Magdeleine de Pons, Henri d’Escodeca de Boisse and their descendants, Louis and Camille-Louis, all of them “Lords of Mirambeau and Other Places”.

From 1562 to 1567 – the period when the War of Religions was raging – the fortified town of Mirambeau was occupied by the rebels.  Heavily damaged after several sieges, destruction and fire, the Château once again caught fire in 1570.  This is when the present north wing was built in a neo-Gothic style.  In 1577, the Prince de Condé seized it, with 1,600 infantrymen and horses.  After the siege and the surrender of Royan on 21 May 1622, Louis XIII spent the night in the château.  Seized on 15 September 1707 to be awarded to the Prince de Lorraine, an ally of the family of Tour d’Auvergne, the Château was subsequently sold in 1787 to the Marquis de Caupenne.

Then, on 30 July 1813, the Comte Duchatel acquired it for the sum of 260,000 francs.  He was the one who carried out the major restoration works to transform the old building, with its feudal aspect, into a rich bourgeois residence.  The pavilions of the southern façade were rebuilt over the 11th and 13th century foundations and decorated in the neo-Louis XIII style.  A building in the same style was constructed between the two to form the central section on the southern side. The monumental fireplace of the cognathèque bears the coat-of-arms of the family, as well as the motto “EX URBE EJECIT HOSTEM” (He drove off the enemy from the town). The chapel was not reconstructed until 1865.

After having served as a Member of Parliament on several occasions, the Comte Duchatel became a peer of France during the July Government.  His successor in Parliament was Tanneguy Duchatel, his son and former ambassador to Vienna.  A very pleasant and highly respected personality in the region, he was also Mayor of Mirambeau and County Councillor of the Canton.  Hard hit by a succession of bereavements, he retired from politics, and devoted himself to charitable works, far from society.  He transformed his sumptuous residence into a home for the elderly who were looked after by nuns, having previously donated his collection of paintings to the Louvre Museum. 

Not having any heirs, he nominated as his sole legatee his nephew Charles, Marie, Duc de Trémoille et de Thouars, Member of Parliament for La Gironde, who donated the Château to the Ministry of War on 9 August 1916 to become a military hospital, and then a convalescence centre after the Armistice, until 1936.  The German invaders occupied it for a while, and then it was lent as of 1942 to the Departmental Service for Refugees, and was once again turned into a convalescence centre. 

After being abandoned by the army in the 1970s, it was purchased by the Region.  But the maintenance costs were so high that it was re-sold in 1992 to a rich American who converted it into a hotel, but without much success.  It was closed for 6 years and then bought again in June 2002 by the present owner, Mr. Roberto Polito, an Italian hotelier who also owns a dozen establishments in France, Italy and England.

A total renovation of the Château was undertaken in September 2002 to turn Mirambeau into a top luxury hotel, and since 2002, the establishment is one of the prestigious hotels of the Relais & Châteaux chain.