Château de Montsoreau – the setting of a novel by A. Dumas
The Château de Montsoreau gained great renown in 1846 following the publication of Alexandre Dumas‘ novel, “La Dame de Montsoreau“.
This novel features Françoise de Maridor, Countess of Montsoreau, as its heroine.
In the story, Françoise’s husband, consumed by jealousy, discovers her affair with Louis de Clermont d’Amboise.
He arranges a meeting between Françoise and Louis at the Château de la Coutancière, where he has the latter assassinated.
After this tragic event, Françoise de Maridor returned to Montsoreau, where she finally found happiness and spent the rest of her life with her husband.
A fortress at the confluence of the Vienne and Loire rivers
Count of Anjou, Fulk Nerra built the Castrum Monte Sorello in the 11th century. Strategically located at the confluence of the Loire and Vienne rivers, it served not only as a military stronghold, but also as a toll station on the Loire.
Gautier de Montsoreau acquired the old fortress. Montsoreau then changed hands several times until Jeanne Chabot married Charles Chambes, advisor to King Charles VII. In 1450, Chambes commissioned the construction of a French Renaissance-style castle on the foundations of the original fortress.
This new castle boasted an impressive facade adorned with large mullioned windows, 25 magnificent fireplaces, a vaulted hall and a spiral staircase, among other features. Over the centuries, the Chambes family entertained many kings and queens at the Château de Montsoreau.
Louis XI stayed there in 1471, Anne of Brittany and her daughter Claude of France in 1505, and Francis I in 1508!
However, the Chambes family’s ownership of the Château de Montsoreau ended at the beginning of the 16th century. René de Chambes, in fact, had legal troubles and was convicted of tax fraud, which led to his exile in England for the rest of his life.
Rehabilitation of the Château de Montsoreau
The Château de Montsoreau was declared public property and sold during the French Revolution, but was largely neglected by its 19 successive owners!
It was first converted into an ammunition depot and divided into individual dwellings, and by the middle of the 19th century stood in a pitiful state of disrepair. However, its impressive ruins attracted the attention of renowned artists such as Turner and Rodin, who immortalised it on canvas.
Fortunately, The Château de Montsoreau was listed as a historical monument in 1862. The Maine-et-Loire department acquired the property in 1910 and undertook a major restoration project that ran from 1923 to 1997.
The Château de Montsoreau opened to the public in July 2001 and was transformed into a contemporary art museum in April 2016. Its terraces, perched approximately 30 metres above the ground, offer breathtaking views of the confluence of the Vienne and Loire rivers, and the picturesque village of Montsoreau, which is listed among the Most Beautiful Villages of France.
Department of Maine-et-Loire
Coordinates: Lat 47.215685 – Long 0.062549
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Header by sybarite48 CC BY 2.0 – Renaissance facade by Vinckie CC BY-SA 3.0 – Fortress commanding the Loire by Touriste Public domain – Castle and village by Philippe49730 CC BY-SA 4.0
