From the 11th to the 14th centuries
1063
The existence of a « château » is mentioned for the first time in the year 1063, in records from Saint Florent’s Abbatial. One century later, Brézé comprises an important fiefdom.
1302
Geoffrey of Brézé divides his holdings. His granddaughter Catherine inherits the lands of Brézé.
1318
The lands of Brézé come into the hands of Pean de Maillé as dowry for his marriage to Jean de l’Etang, daughter of Catherine. Records of the time make reference to Pean kidnapping Jean before their wedding. This union gives rise to the Maillé Brézé family, who would hold sway over Brézé for nearly 300 years, from the 14th through to the 17th centuries.
https://www.chateaudebreze.com

Château de Brézé

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The Château de Montreuil-Bellay is a historical building in the town of Montreuil-Bellay, département of Maine-et-Loire, France, first built on the site of a Gallo-Roman village high on a hill on the banks of the Thouet River. It is listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
During the medieval period the property, consisting of more than 4 km2 (990 acres), was part of a group of 32 villages near-by that created the then known as "L'Anjou". The Mountreil-Bellay fief, first belonged to Gelduin le Danois afterward by regal hereditry passed to Berlay le Vieux who became the first Sir of Bellay, in 1025 the castle was seized by Foulque Nerra a Plantagenet making Giraud Berlay his vassal during the second half of the 12th century. After the defeat of the English by Philip II, the fief returned to a descendant of the Berlay le Vieux family Sir of Bellay, Guillaume de Melun, during this period the fief went under a big renovation by the creation of high massive walls construction including 13 interlocking towers, with entry only via a fortified gateway and the name was anglicized from Barley to Balley.
During the French Wars of Religion (1562–1598) the town of Montreuil-Bellay was ransacked and burned but the sturdy fortress suffered little damage. Ownership of the castle changed several times including, through marriage, to the Cossé-Brissac family. During the French Revolution the castle was seized by the revolutionary government and used as a prison for women suspected of being royalists.
In 1822 the property was acquired by Saumur businessman Adrien Niveleau, who divided the huge property into rental units. In 1860 Niveleau's daughter undertook occupancy and a major restoration campaign, redoing some of the rooms in the Troubadour style. Descendants of her husband’s nephew are the current owners of the property.
Nowadays, Château de Montreuil-Bellay is also the name of a premium wine made on the property.

Château de Montreuil-Bellay

The Château de Saumur, originally built as a castle and later developed as a château, is located in the French town of Saumur, in the Maine-et-Loire département. It was originally constructed in the 10th century by Theobald I, Count of Blois, as a fortified stronghold against Norman predations. It overlooks the confluence of the Loire and the Thouet. In 1026 it came into the hands of Fulk Nerra, count of Anjou, who bequeathed it to his Plantagenet heirs. Following its destruction in 1067, the castle was rebuilt by Henry II of England in the later 12th century.
History
In the early part of the 13th century, Philip II of France made Saumur part of his royal domain. The page for September in the Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry depicts the Chateau as it looked in 1410. It changed hands several times until 1589 when the Protestant King Henry IV (of France and Navarre) gave the castle to Duplessis-Mornay.
In 1621 the castle was converted into an army barracks. Nearly two centuries later it was converted into a state prison under Napoleon Bonaparte.
In the first part of the 20th century, the city of Saumur acquired the castle and began a restoration program to house the museum of the decorative arts. In line with the Saumur area's equestrian tradition and its famous "Cadre Noir", the castle also serves as a Museum of the Horse. The castle has a dungeon and watchtower, and houses the Musée de la Figurine-Jouet, a collection of very old toys and figurines of soldiers, kings of France, and clowns.
The Château de Saumur has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1862. As of 2008, there are a total of 46 buildings and structures in Saumur which are designated a Monument Historique - see the French national database Mérimée. Most of the monuments are built in the soft local stone known as tuffeau. Amongst the most important monuments are the great Château de Saumur itself which stands high overlooking the town, and the nearby Château de Beaulieu which stands just 200 metres from the south bank of the Loire river; designed by the renowned architect Jean Drapeau, it is recognised for its light and elegant architecture. Amongst the other Monuments Historiques are the church of Saint-Pierre in the Place St Pierre in the centre of Saumur, and the Château de Briacé which is located on the north side of the river. The architecture of Saumur is very well described in the book: Saumur - Promenade D'architectures, by Marie Jane Durand, and published by the Tourism Office of Saumur.

Château de Saumur

The Château de Montsoreau is a Renaissance style castle  in the Loire Valley, directly built in the Loire riverbed. It is located in the small market town of Montsoreau, in the Maine-et-Loire département of France, close to Saumur, Chinon, Fontevraud-L'abbaye and Candes-Saint-Martin. The Château de Montsoreau has an exceptional position at the confluence of two rivers, the Loire and the Vienne, and at the meeting point of three historic regions: Anjou, Poitou and Touraine. It is the only château of the Loire Valley to have been built directly on the Loire riverbed.
A Gallo-Roman origin has been verified for the settlement of Montsoreau but not confirmed for the castle, even though a fluted column made of stone from a Gallo-Roman temple or a public building was found in the moat during the restoration works of the end of the 20th century. The first written sources are from the 6th century with the domain of Restis, but it is only with the construction of a fortress at the end of the 10th century that the market town began to become prosperous. One part of this first castle was found during the same restoration works by the archaeologists. The castle was reconstructed in a Renaissance style between 1450 and 1460 by Jean de Chambes, one of the kingdom's wealthiest men, a senior councillor and chamberlain to King Charles VII and to King Louis XI.
The Château de Montsoreau was immortalised by Alexandre Dumas in his novel La Dame de Monsoreau written between 1845 and 1846. This novel is the second part of a trilogy on the Renaissance, between La Reine Margot and Les Quarante-cinq.
Unlike others châteaux of the Loire Valley, Montsoreau is the only one that is actually built on the Loire riverbed.
Parts of the Château de Montsoreau were listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture in 1862, 1930 and 1938. The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 30 November 2000.
In April 2016, the Château de Montsoreau became the Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art.
History
Middle Ages
The first written source describing the site dates from the 6th century with the domaine de Restis. It was transformed into a fortified castle by Eudes the First count of Blois in 990. In 1001, it was taken by the Anjou realm, and Foulques Nerra gave it to Gautier I of Montsoreau. Gautier I belonged to one of the most pre-eminent families of Anjou. Thus, the Castrum Monsorelli became one of the forty fortified castles in Anjou and one of the few to be given the title of lordship at the turn of 1000. A town developed quickly near the castle and in the narratio de commendatione Turonice provincie, edited by Salmon in 1854, the site was mentioned as one of oppidis munitissimi et populosis by the second half of 11th century. A right to raise tax was attested in written sources from the 12th century.
When the Fontevraud order was settled in 1101, Fontevraud Abbey was supervised by Gautier de Montsoreau, who took direct orders from the Count of Anjou. Gautier's mother-in-law, Hersende de Champagne, was the first great prior and co-founder of the Abbey with Robert d'Arbrissel.
Guillaume IV de Montsoreau was on Geoffrey Plantagenet's side against his brother Henri II Plantagenet, the future King of England, and Eleanor of Aquitaine's husband. The latter besieged the castrum and took it at the end of August 1156, despite its fortification. He captured Guillaume and his defenders. Guillaume IV, however, was restored to the castle later. An order of King Henry II of England (about 1068) concerning the landscape project of the Loire was signed by Guillaume de Montsoreau and his son Guillaume. In 1171, Guillaume’s son gave the Turpenay monks the right to build tax-free houses inside the castrum. Gauthier, his eldest son, had no sons and so the lordship passed to the Savary de Montbazon family, on the marriage of his daughter Ferrie in 1213 to Pierre II Savary de Montbazon, lord of Montbazon.
After his victory at Bouvines, Philippe-Auguste chose him in 1214, with Guy Turpin, archdeacon of Tours, to negotiate peace with King John. The second house of Montsoreau disappeared in 1362, with the wedding of the only daughter of Renaud VII and Guillaume II de Craon. The fourth house, one of the Chabot family, lasted only a few decades.
In 1450, in order to pay off various debts, Louis II Chabot sold his domains of Montsoreau and Coutancière to his brother-in-law Jean II de Chambes, who undertook to rebuild the castle at Montsoreau. A descendant of Angoumois old noble family (near the city of Angoulême), Jean II de Chambes began in Charles VII service as an esquire in 1426, the years before the famous interview between the King and Jeanne d'Arc in the Castle of Chinon. Baker in chief, Councillor and Chambelain, he became in 1444 "first master of ostel" of the King; at the same time he associated with Jacques Coeur. Jean II de Chambes received a considerable amount of money that was owed to him. He was trusted with several sensitive diplomatic missions and especially sent as ambassador to Venice in 1459 to prepare a new crusade. His lordships of Montsoreau and Argenton, but also his governorship of La Rochelle and Lord Provost and Captain of Niort, Talmont-sur-Gironde and Aigues-Mortes assured him some substantial revenues.
Modern times
The widow of Louis Francois II de Bouchet Sourches, Marquis of Tourzel, sold the château and what remained of the domain of Montsoreau after 1804. Following the sale of the property, the building was occupied by 19 different homeowners who reshaped the site. The external condition of the main building is known through various representations and descriptions made in the second half of the nineteenth century, which reflect the disrepair of the property. In 1910, the château was in a pitiful state, and this moved the members of the French Archaeological Society (Société Française d'Archeologie). Thanks to the tenacity of Senator Geoffre who pleaded with the Maine et Loire department General Council, the situation evolved favorably. The department gradually acquired each property after 1913, Restoration works were undertaken in 1923 and continued without interruption until the Second World War.
After a new programme of restoration between 1997 and 2001, the château opened to visitors on 6 July 2001 with a son-et-lumiere entitled "The Imaginaries of Loire" which attracted about 35,000 visitors a year.
In June 2015, the Maine and Loire council entrusted the keys of the Château de Montsoreau to the French collector of contemporary art, Philippe Méaille, to create a museum of contemporary art. Méaille opened the Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art to the public in April 2016. Its collection represents the world's largest holding of artworks by the Art & Language group of conceptual artists.The Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art organises numerous events throughout the year: temporary exhibitions, conferences and symposia.
Geography : the site and its natural environment
Situation
The Château de Montsoreau is located in a strategic position, at the convergence of two rivers, the Loire and the Vienne, and also at the intersection of three historical political regions Anjou, Poitou and Touraine. It is situated in a nationally protected region, the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Nature Park.
The castle was directly built into the bed of the Loire River, at the foot of the hillside, in tufa – the local bed-rock, still visible in many places. Many local properties are built from this stone and indeed there are many local houses built into the hillsides, and in the local caves. Its topographic position is said to be militarily undefendable, as it is located between two small valleys on a plateau of some thirty hectares with steep slopes to the east and the west.
Architecture
Description
Jean II de Chambes built the Château de Montsoreau in 1455. The building marks the transition from military architecture to architecture for pleasure, as shown by the large windows, the numerous chimneys, and the attention paid to sanitation problems. The castle’s central dwelling was built directly on the banks of the Loire. The right-angled wing was built a few years later. Two square towers frame the main building. At a time when round towers were usually built, this odd choice prefigures the corner pavilions added later. A spiral staircase probably existed before the current Renaissance staircase.
The ground floor and courtyard side cellars permit control of navigation on the Loire. One of those rooms has direct access to the river. The main staircase on the left side leads to the ground floor dwelling and to the first floor salon. This very bright room, lit by five windows and with a length of seventeen metres, is heated by two monumental chimneys.
Small rooms surround the dwelling and show the transition between public and private areas. In 1473, Jean III de Chambes succeeded his father. He built a Renaissance staircase tower with a polygonal shaft topped by a terrace. The steps lead to an eight-wedged palmtree-shaped vault, quite similar to those found in Angers’ Barrault dwelling and Saumur’s town hall. The stairs are decorated by pilasters bordering the windows; medallions, putti and candelabra carried by lion’s paws.
A central panel shows a helmet bearing the family’s motto "Chambe Crie". The register above represents two monkeys holding the end of a chain. This chain is fixed around a loop belt under which is inscribed "Je le feray". At the other extreme of the chain, an ovoid object embellished by a leaf decoration is suspended through a hoop. A little monkey is crouching down the hoop’s left side. The upper panel is carved with trees and branches representing a coppice in front of which stand a deer, the chief symbol of the hunt.
The Château de Montsoreau in literature and cinema
Literature
The Château de Montsoreau was immortalised by Alexandre Dumas in La Dame de Monsoreau, a novel written between 1845 and 1846. This novel takes as a backdrop the Château de Montsoreau and is part of Alexandre Dumas' trilogy between La Reine Margot and Les Quarante-cinques.
La Dame de Monsoreau is an historic novel mixing two intrigues:
A love story between Louis de Clermont, lordship of Bussy d'Amboise and Diane de Méridor, the Count of Montsoreau's wife.
A politic intrigue setting politics and religious troubles under the King Henri III, including the rivalry with his brother, François de France, Duke of Alençon and then Duke of Anjou, a fascinating character without honour.
Cinema and audiovisual
1909 : La Dame de Monsoreau (La signora di Monsoreau, movie produced by Mario Caserini
1923 : La Dame de Monsoreau, French silent movie by René Le Somptier
1971 : La Dame de Monsoreau, TV broadcast by Yannick Andréi, with Nicolas Silberg (Bussy d'Amboise), Karin Petersen (Diane de Méridor), François Maistre (Count Brian de Montsoreau), Michel Cetron (Chicot) Gérard Berner (Duke of Anjou) and Denis Manuel (King Henri III).
2009 : La Dame de Monsoreau, TV broadcast made in 2006 by Michel Hassan, with Esther Nubiola (Diane de Méridor), Thomas Jouannet (Bussy d'Amboise), Anne Caillon (Dutchesse of Guise). Broadcast on TV on France 2 on 26 August 2009.

Château de Montsoreau

The Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers is a castle at the town of Les Trois-Moutiers in the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of France.
History
The Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers is a former stronghold of the Bauçay family, lords of Loudun. The stronghold dates to the thirteenth century and was originally called Motte Bauçay (or Baussay). The Motte Baussay was taken twice by the English in the Middle Ages and devastated during the French Revolution.
It was bought in 1809 by François Hennecart, a wealthy businessman. In 1857 it was sold to Baron Joseph Lejeune. In 1932, a major fire destroyed most of the buildings in the castle.
In December 2017, 18,600 members of an online community raised €1,600,000, by paying at least €50 each, to purchase the castle with the aim of restoring it.

Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers

The Château de Ternay in the Loire Valley in the province of Poitou (Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France) was built by the Aviau de Ternay family. On twelfth-century foundations, the present château is the result of building campaigns from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries.
Charles Louis d'Arsac, Chevalier de Ternay (1722–1780), styled Chevalier de Ternay, born at the château, escorted the French troops of Rochambeau to join the American Revolution. Felled by a fever, he is buried in Trinity churchyard, Newport, Rhode Island.
Still the seat of the comte and comtesse de Ternay, today the château is open for tours and overnight guests.
It has been listed as a Monument historique since 1996.

Château de Ternay

The Château des Réaux is a French medieval castle located in the commune Chouzé-sur-Loire in the Indre-et-Loire department in the Centre-Val de Loire region. It has been listed as a historic monument since 1930.
History
The Château des Réaux castle had been in possession, in the fourteenth century, of Amaury Péau, Jeanne de Montejean, Countess of Sancerre, Antoine de Breuil and Gilles de Brye in 1455. Ruined in the fifteenth century, it was acquired by the Grand Father Jean Briçonnet, first mayor of Tours. The influence of the old fortified castle appears on the general plan of the building: it is situated on an island totally surrounded by a large water ditch which served for security reinforcement. The present castle was built on the site of the old fortified castle by the grandson Jean Briçonnet, son of Guillaume Briçonnet, lord of the sites then called Plessis-Rideau. He was also inhabited by Thibaut de Longuejoue and their descendants, the family Taveau. In 1595 a marriage has brought the castle into possession of the Béraudière family. François de La Béraudière has inherited it and then sold for an amount of one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds in 1650 to the writer and poet Tallemant des Réaux for whom the castle became home and his family name was attributed to the castle since the 30 of July 1653 by a royal charter of the king.
Contemporary art gallery (permanent exhibition)
Inside the Château des Réaux castle is inaugurated a paintings gallery (permanent exhibition) devoted to the topic of men’s and women’s legs, entitled “Legs of men and women in the Art of the third millennium”. The main conception of this contemporary art gallery and exhibition is to “boost the creative research and make the topic of the exhibition to become the main subject of the works”.
The content of the gallery, 760 paintings of 530 painters from over 40 countries of the world, is the result of an international competition which was launched in 2007. This exhibition was created as a part of preparations for celebration of the sixth century of the Château des Réaux castle foundation. The contemporary art gallery in the Château des Réaux castle was awarded by the “Merit and Dedication to the Arts” diploma issued by the Mazarine Academy. The paintings exhibition is available for individual and collective visits (including guided visits) all year round.
The paintings were selected according to their compliance with the four subdivisions of the main topic:
“Classic and charming” legs of the 3rd millennium
A humorous or satirical look at contemporary legs
The evolution of men’s legs until today
A personal vision of the painter of the four legs of two persons on the same work
Among several painters who have sent their works are: Béatrice Le Limantour, Konstantin Altunin, Annalisa Avancini, Javier Azurdia, Stefan Burger, Ghyslaine Chirat-Leonelli, Sylvain Dez, Giovanni Faccioli, Eva Fellner, Olga Glumcher, Mel Ramos, Susan Jillette - SooZ, Raffaella Vaccari and many other.

Château des Réaux

L’origine du château du Coudray Montpensier remonte au 11ème siècle (1090)
Le Château actuel a été édifié au 14e siècle et considérablement agrandi et embelli au 15ème siècle. Jeanne d’Arc s’y serait arrêtée en attendant l’audience du roi, Charles VII, à Chinon pour organiser la guerre contre les Anglais (guerre de Cent Ans).
Au 17ème siècle, de nouveaux communs ont été bâti dans la basse-cour, et au 18ème siècle ont été ajoutées les écuries (1723). A Partir de 1736, l’architecte Anjubault a aménagé sur les trois terrasses pré existantes, au nord du château, un jardin régulier à compartiments. Le domaine a conservé du 18ème siècle l’essentiel de ses limites et un certain nombre d’éléments: pigeonnier, verger entouré de charmilles, etc.
A la fin du 18ème siècle et au 19ème siècle, une famille célèbre, les Lamotte Baracé, en sont propriétaires et le revendent lors de leur succession.
Ultérieurement, le château a été racheté par les beaux-parents de l’écrivain belge Maurice Maeterlinck vers 1916, puis a été acquis en 1930 par l’avionneur Pierre-Georges Latécoère qui a entrepris sa restauration avec l’architecte blésois Henri Lafargue (en conservant les structures anciennes et le caractère médiéval) et l’architecte-paysagiste Albert Laprade. Si Laprade conserve les divisions générales de l’espace des jardins, les compartiments sont redessinés à la demande de Pierre-Georges Latécoère selon le style des jardins à la française du 15ème siècle. Le château, ses dépendances et les jardins sont classés Monuments Historiques.
Pierre-Georges Latécoère meurt en 1943. La propriété du Château se perd dans une succession complexe pour se retrouver au patrimoine de la Ville de Paris dans les années 60. Abandonné en 1997, il est acquis par le Dr Christian FERAY en 2005 qui entreprend de le restaurer dans un objectif culturel, touristique et gastronomique.

http://www.coudray-montpensier.fr/

Château du Coudray Montpensier

Château de Chinon is a castle located on the bank of the Vienne river in Chinon, France. It was founded by Theobald I, Count of Blois. In the 11th century the castle became the property of the counts of Anjou. In 1156 Henry II of England, a member of the House of Anjou, took the castle from his brother Geoffrey, Count of Nantes after Geoffrey had rebelled for a second time. Henry favoured the Château de Chinon as a residence. Most of the standing structure can be attributed to his reign and he died there in 1189.
Early in the 13th century, King Philip II of France harassed the English lands in France and in 1205 he captured Chinon after a siege that lasted several months, after which the castle remained under French control. When King Philip IV accused the Knights Templar of heresy during the first decade of the 14th century, several leading members of the order were imprisoned there.
Used by Charles VII in the 15th century, the Château de Chinon became a prison in the second half of the 16th century, but then fell out of use and was left to decay. It has been recognised as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1840. The castle, which contains a museum, is now owned and managed by the Indre-et-Loire General Council and is a major tourist attraction. In the early 21st century it was restored at a cost of 14.5 million euros.
History
Background
The settlement of Chinon is on the bank of the Vienne river about 10 kilometres (6 mi) from where it joins the Loire. From prehistoric times, when the settlement of Chinon originated, rivers formed the major trade routes, and the Vienne joins the fertile southern plains of the Poitou and the city of Limoges to the thoroughfare of the Loire. The site was fortified early on, and by the 5th century a Gallo-Roman castrum had been established. Theobald I, Count of Blois built the earliest known castle on the mount of Chinon in the 10th century. He fortified it for use as a stronghold. After Odo II, Count of Blois died in battle in 1037, Fulk III, Count of Anjou marched into Touraine to capture Château de Langeais and then Chinon, some 22 km (14 mi) away. When Fulk arrived at Chinon the castle's garrison immediately sought terms and surrendered. In 1044, Geoffrey (the count of Anjou) captured Theobald of Blois-Chartres. In exchange for his release, Theobald agreed to recognise Geoffrey's ownership of Chinon, Langeais, and Tours. From then until the early 13th century, Château de Chinon descended through his heirs.
Counts of Anjou
According to contemporaneous chronicler Robert of Torigni, on the death of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou in 1151 his second son, who was also called Geoffrey, inherited four castles. Robert did not specify which these were, but historian W. L. Warren speculated that Chinon, Loudun, and Mirebeau numbered amongst these castles as they were in the territory which may have been traditionally the inheritance of the second oldest son. Geoffrey rebelled against his older brother, Henry, in 1152. Henry negotiated with the castellans of the castles of Chinon, Loudun, and Mirebeau to surrender before laying siege to Château de Montsoreau. Following the loss of Montsoreau, Geoffrey surrendered to his brother. By 1156 Chinon, Loudun, and Mirebeau were back under Geoffrey's control. That year he readied them for war as he rebelled against Henry a second time. In the intervening years, his brother had been crowned King Henry II of England at the end of a long-running civil war. Henry besieged and captured Geoffrey's castles in the summer of 1156 and kept them under his control, giving Geoffrey an annuity of £1,500 in compensation. The presence of a treasury and one of Henry II's main arsenals marked Chinon as a particularly important castle in the 12th century. It was a primary residence of Henry II who was responsible for construction of almost all of the massive castle.
In 1173 Henry II betrothed his youngest son, Prince John, to the daughter of Count Humbert, an influential lord in Provence. John had no land, but as part of the arrangement Henry promised him the castles of Chinon, Loudun, and Mirebeau. Henry II's eldest son, also called Henry, had been crowned King of England alongside his father but had no land of his own and was angered by the situation. His discontent grew and Henry the Young King demanded some of the land promised to him be handed over, claiming to have the support of the English barons and his father-in-law, King Louis VII of France. While the king was at Limoges he was informed of a conspiracy involving his wife and sons to overthrow him. Choosing to keep his eldest son by his side, Henry II set off north to Normandy, ensuring along the way that his castles in Aquitaine were prepared for war. En route they stayed at Chinon; under the cover of darkness Henry the Young King escaped and set off to Paris to join the court of Louis VII. Two of Henry the Young King's brothers, Richard and Geoffrey, joined him in rebellion along with the barons of France and some in England. War followed, lasting until 1174, and Chinon, Loudun, and Châtellerault were key to Henry II's defence.
After the revolt ended in 1174, relations between Henry II and his sons continued to be strained. By 1187 Henry the Young King was dead, Richard was in line to inherit, and Henry II was on the brink of war with Philip II. In June that year Richard travelled to Paris with Philip II and struck up a friendship with the French king. Concerned his son might turn against him, Henry II asked him to return. Richard went to Chinon and raided the castle's treasury so he could fund the repair of his own castles in Aquitaine. In 1189 Richard and Philip were wreaking havoc in Maine and Toulouse, capturing Henry II's castles; the king was ill and went to Château de Chinon. He left briefly in July to meet with Richard and Philip II and agree a truce, and died at Chinon on 6 July. The king's body was taken to Fontevraud Abbey and Richard became king.
In 1199, John succeeded his brother as King of England. By 1202 his lands in France were under threat from Philip II of France, threatening the east, and the barons of Brittany. In January 1203 John sent a band of mercenaries to retrieve Queen Isabelle from Chinon as it was under threat from rebels. In the spring Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent, took over as commander of Chinon's garrison; the war was not going in John's favour and in August that year he ordered the demolition of several castles, including Château de Montrésor, to prevent them from being used by the enemy. By 1205, Chinon was one of the last castles in the Loire Valley. Château de Chinon fell to French force in the Easter of 1205 after a siege of several months; damage to the castle meant the garrison was no longer able to hold out so sallied to meet the French outside the castle walls. Hubert de Burgh was injured and taken prisoner in the event, and would remain in captivity until 1207. Soon after Château de Chinon was captured, Philip II took Normandy from the England crown. The French king was a prolific castle-builder and was responsible for building the cylindrical keep at Chinon, the Tour du Coudray. The round keep was typical of French design the period, a departure from usually square keeps, and was repeated by Philip II at the castles of Dourdan, Falaise, Gisors, Laon, and Lillebonne.
French rule
Though it was not the reason they were built, castles could often be used as prisons. One such instance from the 14th century illustrates this aspect of Château de Chinon's history. Founded in the Holy Land as a crusading military order in the early 12th century, the Knights Templar had, by the close of the 13th century, gained swathes of lands in Europe, particularly France. King Philip IV of France had the members of the order in his kingdom arrested, accusing them of heretical practices. The leaders of the order, including the Grand Master Jacques de Molay, were imprisoned at Château de Chinon, in the Tour du Coudray built by Philip II one century earlier.Graffiti carved by the imprisoned knights can be seen on the walls of the tower. In August 1308, Pope Clement V sent three cardinals to hear the leaders' confessions. The outcome was that in 1312 the pope issued a bull, the Vox in excelso, suppressing the order and its property was given to the Knights Hospitaller. The leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment, apart from Jacques de Molay and Geoffrey de Charney who were burnt at the stake.
The Hundred Years' War in the 14th and 15th centuries was fought between the kings of England and France over the succession to the French throne. The war ended in 1453 when the English were finally ejected from France, but in the early 15th century the English under King Henry V made significant territorial gains. The Treaty of Troyes in 1420 made Henry V the heir apparent to the French throne but when the French king, Charles VI, and Henry V died in the space of two months in 1422 the issue of succession was again uncertain. The English supported Henry V's son, Henry VI who was still a child, while the French supported recognised Charles VII, the Dauphin of France. Between 1427 and 1450 Château de Chinon was the residence of Charles, when Touraine was virtually the only territory left to him in France, the rest being occupied by the Burgundians or the English.
On 6 March 1429 Joan of Arc arrived at Château de Chinon. She claimed to hear heavenly voices that said Charles would grant her an army to relieve the siege of Orléans. While staying at the castle she resided in the Tour du Coudray. Charles met with her two days after her arrival and then sent her to Poitiers so that she could be cross-examined to ensure she was telling the truth. Joan returned to Chinon in April where Charles granted her supplies and sent her to join the army at Orléans.
In 1562 the château came briefly into the possession of the Huguenots and was turned into a state prison by Henry IV of France. Cardinal Richelieu was given the castle to prevent it from coming under the control of unfriendly forces, though he allowed it to fall into ruin. Château de Chinon was abandoned until 1793 when, during the Reign of Terror, the castle was temporarily occupied by royalist Vendeans. Soon after, the castle lapsed back into decay.
The 19th century saw increasing public interest in France's heritage and efforts were undertaken to preserve historic buildings. In 1830 the newly crowned Louis Philippe I created the role of Inspector-General of Historic Monuments. Prosper Mérimée, better known as a writer, assumed the position in 1834 and helped halt the decay that had set in at Château de Chinon and instigated repairs to the structure. Since 1840, the castle has been recognised as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
Between 2003 and 2010 the castle was the subject of a massive excavation and restoration project, costing 14.5 million euros. It was hoped that the restored castle would attract 250,000 tourists a year with a visitor centre built in the Fort St-George, which was entirely excavated in advance. Before the visitor centre was built, the Fort St-George was the subject of an archaeological excavation which covered nearly 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft), unearthing the entire interior of the fort. The royal lodgings (logis royales) which were roofless for two hundred years, were restored inside and out and given with a mock 15th-century interior. In addition about 150 metres (490 ft) of the ramparts were also restored as well as the Tour du Coudray. Today, it is owned and managed by the Indre-et-Loire General Council and is a major tourist attraction.
Description
Standing on a rocky outcrop above the Vienne river, Château de Chinon has natural defences on three sides and a ditch dug along the fourth. Writing in the 12th century, the chronicler William of Newburgh commented that even before Château de Chinon came under the control of Henry II "its strength was such that nature seemed to vie with human art in fortifying and defending it". That said, in the 12th century Henry II undertook a project of rebuilding the castle and much of the extant remains date from this period. The stone used to build the castle was quarried on the site.
The castle is divided, along its length, into three enclosures, each separated by a deep dry moat. There are some similarities with Château Gaillard, built by Richard the Lionheart in the closing years of the 12th century, which also consists of three enclosures and sits on a promontory above a nearby town.
The easternmost enclosure is known as Fort St-Georges, the central is the Château du Milieu (the middle castle), while the westernmost is known as the Fort du Coudray. The Fort St-George was built under Henry II and contained a chapel dedicated England's patron saint. The Château du Coudray was added by Philip II in the early 13th century, while the Château de Milieu was built in the 12th and 14th centuries. The round Tour du Coudray built by Philip II (which has parallels at Dourdan, Falaise, Gisors, Laon, and Lillebonne) guarded the bridge linking the Fort du Coudray and the Château de Milieu. While the curtain wall stands in many places, the buildings within the château do not survive to the same extent, and in many cases little more can be said about them than the location of their foundations and possible use.

Château de Chinon

Built from the 16th century by the seigneurial family Les Gouffiers, the Château d’Oiron today houses the contemporary art collection Curios & Mirabilia, loosely based on the theme of the curiosity cabinet in reference to the fabulous art collection of Claude Gouffier, master of King Henry II of France's stables.
Artists reinterpret an exceptional place and original décor - galleries of Renaissance wall paintings in the School of Fontainebleau style, painted panelling and carved woodwork from the 17th century. Visitors are invited to explore "curiosities" and "marvels" following in the footsteps of the Marquis de Carabas - or Puss in Boots, who, it is said, was based on Claude Gouffier.
http://www.chateau-oiron.fr/en/