Château de Châteaubriant

About

Châteaubriant Castle is a highly renovated Renaissance castle located in Châteaubriant in the Loire-Atlantique department (Pays de la Loire). This castle built in the 11th century in the steps of Brittany was, along with those of Vitré, Fougères, Ancenis and Clisson, responsible for defending the Duchy of Brittany against the neighboring fiefs, especially the county of Anjou. It is also the Breton pendant of the castle angelevin of Pouancé.

At the beginning of a simple dungeon, the castle was enlarged and fortified several times during the Middle Ages, while the town of Châteaubriant developed next to it, surrounding itself with ramparts. The seigneury of Châteaubriant, raised in barony in the 12th century, passed to the families of Dinan and Montfort-Laval. In 1488, the castle was besieged by the king of France Charles VIII, in the framework of the Mad War, which ended with the defeat of Duke Francis II.

The king's marriage to the Duchess Anne of Brittany in 1491 reduced the strategic importance of the castle. The damaged dungeon and the houses are rebuilt and modernized with a view to comfort, then, from 1500 to the 1540s, a "Château-Neuf" is built in the lower...