Château de Blain

About

Blain Castle () is a medieval fortress in the commune of Blain, Loire-Atlantique, France. Built in the early 12th century by the Duke of Brittany Alain Fergent, it is part of the system of defense of the duchy of Brittany (937-1532), alongside the castles of Vitré, Fougères, Châteaubriant, Ancenis and Clisson, facing the feudal principalities nearby, then facing the interventions of the kings of France, especially at the end of the 15th century. Central to the seigneury of Blain, he was held successively by the house of Blain (unknown), the house of Clisson, the house of Rohan, then his branch of Rohan-Chabot.

After the French Revolution and the abolition of the seigneuries, the castle remained the property of the Rohan-Chabot, but it was sold in 1802 and then had several owners, the best known of which was Marie Bonaparte, wife of Prince Georges of Greece, who held it from 1918 to 1950. The original buildings were enlarged in the 13th century by the connétable Olivier I of Clisson and strongly remodeled in the 16th century in the Renaissance style. In 1591, during the Eighth War of Religion, he was taken and damaged by the troops of the...