Montrenard Castle

Montrenard Castle, locally known as Château de Montrenard, lies in the hamlet of the same name in the Loire department in France.

The castle, situated on a plain near the Jarnossin stream, was built around 1385 by the Montrenard family, who controlled the river crossings between Aiguilly and Pouilly. By the 16th century, the importance of the Montrenards was in decline, and in 1535, Joachim de Montrenard began selling off parts of his estates.

By 1588, the fief belonged to Claude de Crémaux; by 1601, it had passed to the d’Apchon family. The Michon de Vougy de la Farge family were the last noble owners of Montrenard Castle before the French Revolution. In 1766, the estate was raised to a county, but by the 19th century, it had fallen into disuse.

The castle has a square layout with a sturdy, square keep, 20 m high, in its southwest corner, and corbelled turrets on its other corners. Originally, it was completely surrounded by a wet moat. While the castle may appear impressive, its thin walls indicate that it was not designed to withstand a military attack, but to provide shelter from bandits.

Today, Montrenard Castle is privately owned and used for agricultural purposes. It is not open to the public but can be easily seen from the public road beside it. A beautiful castle. I would have loved to see the interior of the keep.

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