Loches Castle(Château de Loches) or the Royal Borough of Loches is located in the commune of Loches in the Loire Valley, department Indre and Loire. The main tower of Loches is a fortified castle in the heart of the city, which, in addition to the donjon, houses the royal palace and the collegiate church of Saint-Ur.

Castle, residence of Charles VII royal castle castle view of castle and church

The first mention of a fortification on the site of a modern castle was noted by Ursus Cahors in 491. Then a certain Saint-Ur built a mill near the monastery until his death in 508. In 742, the whole area was captured by the troops of Pepin and Carloman, who suppressed the uprising of Hunald, Duke of Aquitaine. At that time, the fortress was wiped off the face of the earth. Later, several owners changed on this territory ...
On the site of donjon Loches, which is the oldest surviving main tower in the country, at first only a wooden one was built in the 9th century to protect the nearby village. It was connected with the last underground passages carved into the rocks.
The land belonged to the Angevin count Fulk I the Red, who married Rosille de Loches, who brought him the Loches fortress as a dowry. Thus was the birth of the power of the family of the Dukes of Anjou. His successor, Count Fulke Nerra, fought for many years for neighboring lands with representatives of the family of Counts de Blois, and it was he who ordered the construction of a stone quadrangular fortress, a donjon, on the site of a wooden tower. Construction began in 1005 and continued until about 1070 (according to other sources, construction was carried out from 1013 and 1035). The donjon was 25 by 15 meters in size and reached 38 meters in height, the thickness of the walls was 3 meters, loopholes were made in them, at the top of the walls there were loopholes for shelling the assaulting enemy. For this era, he was virtually impregnable.
Fulca Nerra died in 1040 and was buried in the castle. The successor of his military policy, Count Geoffroy Martel d'Anjou, eventually defeated the representatives of the de Blois family at Saint-Martin-les-Beau, and this finally made it possible for the Nerra family to settle in the castle, which was surrounded by more and more new fortifications. Over time, the last representative of the Nerra family married the daughter of the English king, and their son Henry II Plantagenet (1133 - 1189) in 1154 reigned on the throne of England (the Plantagenet dynasty ruled from 1154 to 1394). He surrounded the donjon with fortress walls and moats. In his possession was a significant territory of France. Its king (since 1180) Philip II Augustus (Philip of the Crooked, August 21, 1165 - July 14, 1223) managed to capture the territories of the Plantagenets.
The son of Henry II King (since 1189) Richard I the Lionheart (September 8, 1157 - April 6, 1199) in 1199 went on the 3rd crusade. Then, upon returning from it, he was captured by the emperor (since 1191) of the Holy Roman Empire, Henry VI, who was at enmity with him (November 1165 - September 28, 1197) and was released by him only in February 1194 and the next month arrived in England. However, during his captivity, Philip Augustus received from Richard's brother, Prince John (Jean), a large number of lands, including the castle of Loches. On June 13, 1194, Richard, who landed in France, captured it in 3 hours. After the death of Richard, after a year-long siege, in 1205, Philip Augustus recaptured Loches and turned the castle into a state prison. The castle never took part in large-scale hostilities again. The French king reconstructed the fortress, and later the Old residential building was built in the northern part of it, which entered the history of France, when in June 1429 the famous maiden Jeanne d'Arc (January 6, 1412 - May 30, 1431) persuaded the Dauphin (heir) Charles (February 22, 1403 - July 22, 1461) to be crowned in Reims on July 17, 1429 under the name of Charles VII.
In 1444, the first favorite of Charles was Agnes (or Agnes) Sorel - "Lady of Beauty" (1421 or 1422 - February 9, 1450), who settled in the castle of Loches. She was very “reverent” about luxury and the royal treasury suffered from this. In 1450, she died and, at her request, was buried in the church of Notre Dame de Loches (now Saint-Ur), to which she bequeathed 2 thousand ecu in gold. Some time after the funeral, the monks turned to the heir to the French throne, Louis (July 3, 1423 - August 30, 1483, king from 1461) with a request to transfer her remains to the castle, but Louis replied that he would go there with her and gold. Thus, everything remains the same ...
In the 15th century, the New Tower and the Martello Guard Tower were added to the Old Building. Then the royal apartments consisted of a tower and a wall built in the 13th century, several buildings with a watchtower (14th century), a hunting lodge of the 15th century; around the same time, a donjon was erected, the road from which led to the tower of St. Anthony and the donjon in the area of ​​​​the Cordelier gate. There was also a chapel of Anne of Brittany (January 25, 1422 - January 1, 1514), the wife of two kings - Charles VIII (June 30, 1470 - April 7, 1498) and Louis XII (June 27, 1462 - January 1, 1515). Anna lived for some time in the castle of Loches while Charles fought in Italy.
From the 15th century, the castle was a military prison, many famous prisoners stayed in it: the famous historian Philippe de Commines (circa 1447 - October 18, 1511), a diplomat and author of memoirs; Duke of Milan Lodovico Maria Sforza (July 27, 1452 - May 27, 1508), nicknamed Moro, captured in the battle of Novara, painted the ceiling and walls (images of the coat of arms, helmet and inscriptions that have survived to this day) and died in Loches ; conspirators against King Francis I (September 12, 1494 - March 31, 1547, King of France from January 1, 1515) Puy and Autin Antoinde Chabanne and Jacques Guro, who made a mortise altar and a wall polyptych during their "stay" in the Locher castle ( several paintings consisting of many folds or planks, united by a single theme), depicting the Passion of the Lord.
During the war for the independence of the American colonies from Great Britain (1775 - 1783), France provided military and financial assistance to the Americans and the French king Louis XVI (August 23, 1754 - January 21, 1793) adapted Loches Castle as a prison for British prisoners.
After the French Revolution of 1789, the soldiers of some battalions of national volunteers and mobilized departments of Indre and Indre-et-Loire (they were formed in 1791-1793) thought that Sorel's tomb was a saint's tomb, desecrated it by breaking an alabaster statue of Agnes and discarded her remains. In addition, the "revolutionary" soldiers plundered the castle and almost completely destroyed many of the buildings in it: the Old Residential Building, the Church of Notre Dame de Loches, the Anna Chapel and prison cells. Later, the remains of Agnes were collected and transferred to the premises of the Old Building, and a copy of the old statue was installed over the new resting place.
However, Loches Castle remained a military prison until 1926.
Over a very long time, the castle gradually fell into decay. In 1806, restoration work began, but even today some of its buildings lie in ruins. Only in 1862 the French Ministry of Culture included the castle in the list historical monuments. The gates of the castle wall became a similar object by decree of July 12, 1886, the old royal palace - in 1889. Part of the northwestern wall that runs along Fosse-Saint-Our street and connects the main gate of the castle with the foundation royal palace in the north it became a historical monument according to the conclusion of August 8, 1962.
Nowadays, several rooms can be visited by tourists - for example, a 15th-century torture chamber (the shackles used in quartering are kept here) and a copy of a cell from about the middle of the same century, a donjon (where there is only one entrance through a small tower with loopholes), with the roofs of which you can see the panorama of the entire fortress and the valley of the river Indre, as well as the streets, houses, the palace and the church of Sainte-Our of a small town.

Loches Castle is located near the Loire, or rather next to its tributary of the Indre. He himself suffered greatly over the centuries of his existence, but still attracts tourists, because here is the oldest donjon in France. This quadrangular tower still dominates Loches.

Ancient history

Losh was born when Fulk I the Red ordered the construction of a wooden tower on this site, it was supposed to protect the local village. His successor Nerra decided to build a stone fortress on the same site. He was at war with the Blois dynasty all the time, so he needed powerful fortifications.

In general, this owner of the castle, one might say, was obsessed with fortifications, wherever he had to live, he erected them. But rather, it was not his whim, but a vital necessity in that warlike time.

Donjon began to build in 1005. In appearance, it may not have seemed very reliable and scary, because it was 38 meters high and 25 meters wide. However, in fact, the structure was truly impregnable for that time. The walls of the donjon were more than three meters wide, so it was pointless to storm the fortress.

Moreover, it was constantly being completed and made even more impregnable. As a result, construction continued until 1070. But by that time, Nerra had already died (by the way, he was buried in Loches) and bequeathed his fortress to Geoffoy d'Anjou. This receiver, nevertheless, defeated the Count of Blois, but did not leave the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bfurther strengthening the fortress.

heyday time

This time is considered "golden" for Loches. All new buildings were erected here, the castle was strengthened and completed. But the time of calm passed when Count Fulk married an English princess. Now the castle had to take on new owners every 50 years, including Henry II, Richard the Lionheart and even Philip Augustus.

The latter in 1205 ordered restoration work to be carried out in Loches, erected a residential building with towers and decided to give part of the castle for prison.

Jeanne d'Arc also visited this castle. Here she tried to convince the Dauphin Charles to take the throne of France. It was in 1429.

And already in 1444, the favorite of Charles VII, the famous courtesan Agnes Sorel, became the mistress of the castle. She was called "beautiful lady".

She gave birth to the king of three children and, although she loved luxury very much, she always sympathized with those in need and donated money to charity. She died here and in her will wished to rest in the Cathedral of Saint-Ur.

The clergy naturally protested, how could a courtesan be buried in a holy place? However, Agnes Sorel was not so simple and bequeathed to the place where she would be buried 2,000 gold pieces.

The clergy had the choice to either take the money and bury her in the church, or give the money to the castle and bury her there. Naturally, they chose money, declaring that the “beautiful lady” deserved to be buried in a sacred place.

Loches Castle Prison

The dungeon of the castle was not empty, many prisoners languished there. Here was Philippe de Commain, who at one time committed a betrayal of Louis XI, Duke of Moreau, Bishop of Balu. These people even left a mention of themselves in the castle. For example, Moreau drew inscriptions in his cell and left drawings. From the bishops languishing there, a polyptych and a carved altar remained.

Tourists can get into some of the underground rooms of Loches. For example, you can go to the 15th century torture chamber. Here the captives were quartered, shackled, still kept here.

And Louis XI ordered to build a cell here for Bishop Balu. She can also be seen in Loches. True, this is an exact reconstruction, and not the original, but it still makes one wonder how the unfortunate bishop could spend 10 years of his life in it.

After leaving the underground prison, you can climb the oldest donjon. To get to its top, you will have to be patient and overcome 150 steps.

But from here you can see the whole city and all the buildings of the castle, as well as fortified walls that stretched for 2 kilometers and protected the city from enemies.

Loches Castle in France – VIDEO

Loches Castle looks like a gloomy medieval stronghold. First of all, it is famous for its dark dungeons. Ancient legends claim that they are connected by secret passages to other underground rooms and caves. Here you can see the oldest donjon - main tower in European feudal castles.

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Loches Castle is located in the French department of Indre-et-Loire. The castle stands at an altitude of 500 meters above the river Indre.

Loches Castle is famous for its donjon, which is the oldest surviving in all of France. The donjon is a massive quadrangular building. The first building dates back to the 9th century, when a wooden tower stood on this site, connected with the town of Loches by underground tunnels laid in the rocks.

The stone dungeon began to be built by Count Fulk Black of Anjou in 1005. At that time he was in a state of constant internecine war with neighboring feudal lords, especially with the counts of Blois, so he built many defensive structures. The keep of Loches Castle was almost impregnable - the thickness of its walls reached three meters. There are five floors in the tower, each floor is one room. The first housed a warehouse. Fulk the Black did not live to see the completion of construction, he died in 1040 and was buried in the still unfinished castle. Loches Castle was completed in 1070.

In the middle of the XIII century, the new Count of Anjou - Geoffroy V - was able to finally defeat the Counts of Blois and calmly settle in the castle of Loches. But already at the end of this century, his son, King of England Henry II Plantagenet, had to fight off the constant attacks of the French king Philip II, who intended to expand his territories. Henry's work was continued by his sons, Kings Richard the Lionheart and John the Landless. During the reign of the latter in 1205, Philip II finally managed to capture the castle of Loches.

Military actions no longer affected the castle, and during the Hundred Years War, representatives of the royal Valois dynasty took refuge here. The first building of the royal apartments, built under King Charles VII, is more reminiscent of defensive structures, but already under his successors they were remodeled in the flaming Gothic style.

It was at the Château de Loches in June 1429 that Jeanne d'Arc persuaded the Dauphin Charles, the future King Charles VII of France, to be crowned the French throne at Reims. Later, already being king, Charles gave this castle to his favorite - Agnes Sorel.

In the 15th century, the Round Tower, otherwise called the Louis XI Tower, was erected. It is 25 meters high, consists of four floors and was previously used as a prison. The torture room is located on the first floor of the tower. Since 1500, Loches Castle has become a prison for the Duke of Milan, Lodovico Sforza. Out of respect for his noble birth, he was given a separate prison room with amenities. Lodovico died in this castle in 1508.

During the American Revolutionary War, France supported the Americans, including financially. Loches Castle then served as a prison for captured Englishmen.

During the French Revolution, the castle of Loches was seriously destroyed, and has not been completely restored. Churches were destroyed, including the chapel of the Queen of France, Anne of Brittany, and the grave of Agnes Sorel was looted. Despite the fact that restoration work has been going on since 1806, part of the castle is still in ruins.

In 1861, the castle of Loches became part of the monuments of history and culture of France. Now it belongs to the commune of Loches, it houses a museum. In addition to the castle itself, the church of Saint-Ur adjoining it is also open for visiting.

The Church of Saint-Ur was previously known as the Church of Notre-Dame de Loches. It is interesting for its appearance - it is crowned with two octagonal pyramids built in 1165. Its portal is also unique - it depicts human figures and animals taken from a medieval bestiary. Since the end of the 18th century, churches have been given it modern name, since the first parish church of St. Ur was destroyed. The church was dedicated to Saint Ur of Losh, the founder of the monastery in the 5th century. In April 2005, a marble tombstone of Agnes Sorel appeared in the church of Sainte-Our.

Construction IX century -??? losh on the Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates : 47°07′37″ s. sh. 0°59′54″ E d. /  47.126944° N. sh. 0.998333° E d.(G) (O) (I)47.126944 , 0.998333

Loches Castle

During the existence of the prison, many high-ranking prisoners have been here. For example, Loches' prisoner was the famous historian Philippe de Commines, who betrayed Louis XI by taking the side of a group of conspirators, but was subsequently pardoned by Charles VIII. In the Martello tower, the Duke of Milan, captured at the Battle of Novara, sat Lodovico Sforza, also known as the Duke of Moro. As a sign of respect for the noble origin of the captive, Louis XII gave him a cell with furniture and a fireplace, and also provided some "amenities", such as, for example, the company of a jester and masters. The walls painted by him and the elongated ceiling of the chamber, decorated with the image of a heraldic helmet, snakes and stars, as well as several wall inscriptions, remind of Duke Moreau's stay here. Other "guests" of Loches were the bishops of Puy and Autun, Antoine de Chabanne and Jacques Guro, who took part in the conspiracy against Francis I. During the imprisonment, the clergy made a small carved altar and a wall polyptych depicting the Passion of the Lord.

There is an interesting legend connected with Loches Castle, which may well turn out to be true. Rumor has it that at one time the owner of the Pontbriyan castle, having heard enough stories about the mysterious underground rooms and caves near Loches (where the rock was once mined), ordered to break open several ancient walled doors. After passing through many galleries dug into the rock, Pontbrillant found himself at a dead end in front of a closed room. Opening the door, he at first recoiled sharply, seeing a tall man in a sitting pose, covering his head with his hands, but since he did not move, the owner of the castle came closer and saw that it was a corpse that turned into a mummy due to the dry air of the prison cell. In a few moments, the wind that rushed in from outside instantly reduced him to dust. In addition to the mysterious mummy, Pontbrillant also found a small chest containing neatly folded clothes. Proof that this legend may be true, some experts consider the bones of the mysterious captive, preserved in the church of Notre Dame.

Today, some underground rooms of the castle are open to the public - the most memorable of them is the torture chamber, equipped by Charles VII in the 15th century, which still contains the shackles with which the ankles of captives were fastened during quartering. You can also thoroughly examine a copy of the famous cell of Louis XI, in which Bishop Balu lived for a long 11 years.

The keep of Loches Castle can only be reached through a narrow turret with embrasures, located at a height of three meters. Apparently, there used to be a special ladder here, allowing you to climb into the tower. At the entrance begins a stone spiral staircase, overcoming 150 steps of which you can get to the roof of the donjon, from which the entire territory of the fortress is perfectly visible. The history of the castle of Loches is clearly visible from the terrace, from which you can admire great view on the fortress and the valley of the river Endra. Only from here you can see that the two-kilometer walls actually protect a real small town - with its streets, houses, palace and church. In addition, if you look at the castle, you can easily distinguish its ancient part from the later one. The ancient and higher part was built during the era of wars, so four watchtowers are built into the wall, united by a common path at the base of the roof. In the New building, the features of the Renaissance era are easily guessed.

Large-scale restoration work began only in 1806, and in 1861 the Loches castle was listed by the French Ministry of Culture among the significant monuments of French history. Loches Castle was listed on the state list of historical monuments in 1861.

see also

Links

• (Russian) Loches Castle
• (fr.) Ministry of Culture data on Château Loches
• (fr.) Photos on the website of the Ministry of Culture