Chateaux of Loiret

Château de Sully-sur-Loire

The Château de Sully-sur-Loire is a castle converted to a palatial seigneurial residence. The château is the seat of the duc de Sully, Henri IV's minister Maximilien de Béthune (1560–1641), and the ducs de Sully. It is a château-fort, a true castle, built to control one of the few sites where the Loire can be forded; the site has perhaps been fortified since Gallo-Roman times, certainly since the beginning of the el ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Sully-sur-Loire, France

Château de Beaugency

The lords of Beaugency attained considerable importance in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries; at the end of the 13th century they sold the fiefdom to the Crown. Afterward it passed to the house of Orléans, then to those of Dunois and Longueville, and ultimately again to that of Orléans. The city of Beaugency has been the site of numerous military conflicts. It was occupied on four separate occasions by the E ...
Founded: 12th century | Location: Beaugency, France

Château de Meung-sur-Loire

The Château de Meung-sur-Loire, located next to the collegial church, was the country residence of the Bishops of Orléans. It was built and destroyed several times. The oldest still existing parts date from the 13th century and were built by Manassès de Seignelay (bishop from 1207 to 1221). Still standing are the main rectangular plan building, flanked by three towers, a fourth having been destroyed. ...
Founded: ca. 1200 | Location: Meung-sur-Loire, France

Château de Chamerolles

The Château de Chamerolles was built in the first half of 16th century by Lancelot I, chamberlain of Louis XII and Bailiff of Orléans under King François I. His son, Lancelot II agreed to Protestantism in 1562 and housed a Protestant church in Chamerolles. The castle became a center of the Protestant religion in the region. Chamerolles was a typical castle with square form and round towers in every corner. It is comple ...
Founded: 16th century | Location: Chilleurs-aux-Bois, France

Château de Bellegarde

Château de Bellegarde was built between 1355-1388 by Nicolas Braque to the foundations of earlier fortification. It was renovated in 1692 by Duc d’Antin and it was a residence for famous visitors like Louis XIV, Louis XV, King Stanislas and Voltaire.
Founded: 1355-1388 | Location: Bellegarde, France

Château du Hallier

The building time of Château du Hallier is not known precisely. It is recorded in the 15th century in deeds of sale. The castle was sold to Charles de l'Hospital in 1537. In the 18th century, the castle was used as a quarry; the square second floor disappeared. In the 19th century, the castle became a farm. One of the towers housed a potter's kiln until the early 20th century. Today castle is privately owned. It h ...
Founded: 15th century | Location: Nibelle, France

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Monte d'Accoddi

Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.