Château de Meillant

Meillant

In the south of the Berry, on the road once travelled by the great merchant Jacques Cœur, the château of Meillant unfurls a Flamboyant silhouette that contrasts sharply with the severity of its defensive origins. From the 11th century a first fortress here protected the lands of the princes of Déols against the rival tower of Dun-le-Roi; the present château, with its two rectangular residential wings still visible, was begun at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries by Étienne II de Sancerre. But it was the d'Amboise family which, between 1473 and 1510, gave the site its most famous face: Charles I and then Charles II d'Amboise had a central residence, a chapel and above all the famous Tour du Lion built here, a spiral-staircase turret topped by a carved lion, a masterpiece of the Louis XII style marking the transition between Flamboyant Gothic and the early French Renaissance. Local tradition links this riot of decoration to the visit of King Louis XII in 1505, come to honour his faithful servants. Passing subsequently through the hands of the families of Beaujeu, La Rochefoucauld and then, from 1755, the Duke of Charost, the château was restored in the 19th century by the architect Louis Lenormand, who gave the carved facades and the roofs back their original splendour. Still lived in today by its owners, Meillant remains one of the little-known jewels of the Route Jacques-Cœur.

Getting there : Village of Meillant, Cher, private property open to visitors (Route Jacques-Cœur), seasonal hours

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound