Château de Gien (musée international de la chasse)

Gien

At Gien, the château was built from 1482 for Anne of France, known as Anne de Beaujeu, eldest daughter of Louis XI and regent during the minority of Charles VIII (1483–1488). It stands on the site of a medieval fortress where, according to tradition, Joan of Arc may have stayed (to be verified). The façades combine brick and stone, with towers and turrets, and herald the Renaissance. The place lies between the Sologne, rich in game, and the forest of Orléans: Anne de Beaujeu loved hunting and practised falconry. Historians still debate Louis XI's share in this undertaking. Dendrochronological dating of the roof timbers and excavations carried out from 2011 to 2014 have helped reconstruct the order in which the wings were built. What followed was less brilliant: the château served as an administrative building (notably a sub-prefecture), a court, then a prison, which badly damaged the interior. It was listed as a historic monument in 1840 and was bombed in 1940, then restored. Since 1952 it has housed the international hunting museum, redesigned in 2017.

Getting there: On the château grounds, place du Maréchal-Leclerc, near the Gien bridge. Opening hours and visiting conditions not verified. Coordinates: Nominatim (OpenStreetMap).

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

Ambient sound