Château de Saumur

Saumur

At the confluence of the Loire and the Thouet, the château de Saumur occupies the eastern edge of Anjou. According to Wikipedia, the first fortifications date from the 10th century, under Theobald the Trickster, count of Blois; in 1026 the site passed to Fulk Nerra, count of Anjou. In the 13th century it became a royal fortress (Saint Louis is said to have had it raised in 1227). From 1367 Louis I of Anjou, brother of King Charles V, replaced the old round towers with octagonal ones and made it a palace. The month of September of the Très Riches Heures of the duke of Berry shows it above the grape harvest. King René, last duke of Anjou, is said to have called it the “château d'amour”. At his death in 1480 the château returned to the royal domain. In 1589 Philippe Duplessis-Mornay, appointed governor, had its enclosure fortified. It then served as a prison (British sailors were held there from the 1780s), then as an arms depot. The town bought it in 1906 to make it a museum, opened in 1912. On 22 April 2001 part of the north rampart collapsed and damaged houses below; the stabilisation work was completed in 2007. On the protection, sources differ: listing in 1862 according to the official website, in 1964 according to Wikipedia (to be verified).

Getting there: At the top of the town; museum, opening hours and visiting conditions to be checked on the official website. Coordinates: OpenStreetMap (Nominatim), consistent with those of Wikipedia (47°15′22″ N, 0°04′21″ W) to within a hundred metres or so.

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

Ambient sound