Tours Castle

Tours Castle, locally known as Château de Tours, lies in the city of the same name in the Indre-et-Loire department in France.

The castle of Tours was built between 1044 and 1060 by the Counts of Tours on a corner of the fortifications that surrounded the former Gallo-Roman city. The castle controlled a nearby bridge over the Loire River and two city gates.

Several buildings were added to the castle during the 12th century. At the end of that same century, the castle was damaged during the struggles between the Philip II of France and Richard I of England. The former finally conquered and annexed the province of Touraine to the royal domain in 1204. From the on, the castle would become a fortified stopover for passing French kings until the end of the 15th century. They also used it to house important prisoners.

In 1392 Charles VI of France concluded a treaty at the castle with John IV, Duke of Brittany. It is said that Joan of Arc visited Tours Castle in 1429, before and after the Siege of Orléans. In 1436 the castle hosted the marriage of the infants Margaret Stewart, Dauphine of France, and the future Louis XI of France. The latter would be the last king to regularly visit Tours Castle. For in 1470 he moved his court to another, more comfortable castle. From then on, the castle would be the seat of local government.

When the French Wars of Religion broke out in 1562, the Huguenots seized the castle. They had imprisoned the Catholic Charles, Duke of Guise, in it for almost 3 years before he managed to escape in 1592, being only still 15 years of age.

In the 17th century, Tours Castle lost its political and defensive purposes and rapidly fell into dilapidation. It became an arsenal and was even used as a workhouse.

Around 1780 it was finally dismantled and used as a stone quarry for the construction of the quays of the Loire, then for military barracks which were built on and next to the site of the old castle. The site stayed a military site until the 1960s. The 18th century barracks have disappeared.

The structure we see today is composed of two medieval towers; the Tour de Guise to the north and the Tour du Cachot to the south, connected by the 18th century Mars Pavillion. West of it you can see the castle foundations which were excavated in the 1960s. The castle is now used to house temporary exhibitions.

A nice castle remnant in a lovely city.

Gallery