Tour de la Mal-Coiffée

En un regard

Le château en bref

The castle of the Dukes of Bourbon, of which the main surviving part is the keep known as the Tour de la Mal-Coiffée, stands in the heart of Moulins (Allier), the former capital of the duchy of Bourbonnais. Built between 1375 and 1410 on the initiative of Louis II de Bourbon, brother-in-law of King Charles V, it replaced an earlier seigneurial residence attested as early as the 11th century. At the turn of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Pierre II de Bourbon and his wife Anne de France (Anne de Beaujeu) enlarged the complex and notably had a Renaissance pavilion built, now occupied by the Musée Anne-de-Beaujeu. The keep, about 45 metres high over seven levels, owes its nickname “Mal-Coiffée” (“badly capped”) to its truncated roof, which lacks a spire. After the duchy of Bourbon was annexed to the Kingdom of France in 1527, the site lost its residential function and was converted into apartments in the 17th century. A fire on the night of 2 to 3 October 1755 destroyed a large part of the buildings, in particular the Renaissance extensions, while the keep survived. From 1775 the building served as a prison, a function it retained until its closure in 1983; between 1940 and 1944 it was occupied by the German authorities, who held members of the Resistance and deportees there. Since its restoration, the Tour de la Mal-Coiffée can be visited with a guide-lecturer and offers a panoramic view over the town of Moulins.