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

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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

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 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 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

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/

Château d'Oiron

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/