Centre Val De Loire Section
Chateau de Langeais - Keep - Castle Loire Valley
Chateau de Langeais, an authentic medieval fortress
King Louis XI built the Chateau de Langeais in the 1460s.
The medieval fortress boasts a superb architectural uniformity as construction was never interrupted.
Located right in the heart of town, it projects its impressive towers, still inter-connected by crenelated battlements, above the blue-grey slate roofs.
The working drawbridge is the only access to the castle! It is raised every night after the end of visits.
A fortress with an early Renaissance facade
The mullioned windows and turrets added during the early French Renaissance soften the appearance of the western facade that overlooks the formal gardens.
The Wedding Hall - Salle du Mariage is without any doubt one of the most visited rooms.
This is where the wedding of Charles VIII and the young Anne de Bretagne took place in 1491.
Their alliance put an end to the rivalry between the Dukes of Brittany and the Kings of France.
Jacques Siegfried, a banker and art collector from Eastern France, acquired the Chateau de Langeais in 1886.
He dedicated 20 years restoring it and furnishing it with original 15th century furniture. As a result, Langeais boasts exceptional collections of paintings, as well as 15th and 16th centuries French and Flemish tapestries.
Jacques Siegfried bequeathed the chateau to the Institut de France in 1904.
Chateau de Langeais - Keep of Fulk Nerra
The Chateau de Langeais stands at the foot of the promontory where the Duke of Anjou Fulk Nerra built a stronghold in the 10th century to command the crossing of the river Loire and the road to Nantes.
All that is left of it is the keep, which is the oldest stone keep remaining in France.
Jacques Siegfried is buried at the foot of the keep in the beautiful Jardins à la Francaise.
Department of Indre-et-Loire
Coordinates: Lat 47.324847 - Long 0.406217
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