Château de Loches, Loches, France

The Château de Loches was constructed in the 9th century. Built some 500 metres above the Indre River, the huge castle, famous mostly for its massive square keep, dominates the town of Loches. Designed and occupied by Henry II of England and his son, Richard the Lionheart during the 12th century, the castle withstood the assaults by the French king Philip II in their wars for control of France until it was finally captured by Philip in 1204.

Construction work immediately upgraded Loches into a huge military fortress. The castle would become a favorite residence of Charles VII of France who gave it to his mistress, Agnès Sorel, as her residence. It would be converted for use as a State prison by his son, King Louis XI who had lived there as a child but preferred the royal castle at Amboise.

During the American Revolution, France financed and fought with the Americans against England and King Louis XVI used the castle of Loches as a prison for captured Englishmen. At the time of the French Revolution, the château was ransacked and severely damaged. Some major restoration began in 1806 but today there are parts visible as ruins only. Owned by the Commune of Loches, the castle and the adjacent ancient Church of Saint-Ours are open to the public.

Château de Loches has been recognised as a monument historique since 1861 and is listed by the French Ministry of Culture.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Ayotroyee Jana (16 months ago)
Medieval city that encompasses amazing history!

Kevin Parsons (16 months ago)
Nice chateaux and keep with reasonable entrance costs and nice views.. views actually best from the chateaux if you don’t want to climb the many stairs in the keep

g. alves (18 months ago)
Very interesting monument. Full of history, they propose activities to the children. The souvenir shop is an eye-catching. Inside of the chateau there is nothing much on, tough they did a good work trying to do some work inside. There is another museum inside of the property to visit with a beautiful garden.

Suzy Q (21 months ago)
Extremely well organised and conserved old castle historically related to Jeanne d'Arc Movies projected on the wall in authentic environment Souvenir shop Excellent restaurant with a huge terrasse- nearby - reservation needed

Joost Wijnings (2 years ago)
Beautiful building, great views on the city and surroundings. The combination of donjon and castle is very nice!

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