Château de Châteaugiron

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Châteaugiron, a medieval fortress, retains as its oldest feature the Romanesque choir of its chapel, dating from the 12th century. Four of the original six towers survive: the keep, which was originally freestanding and rises 38 metres above the town; the Clock Tower; the Garde Tower; and the Cardinal's Tower. The château also has a gatehouse with a drawbridge and a seigneurial residence. Jean de Derval undertook major renovation works in the 15th century. The Le Prestre family later remodelled the residence in the Classical style during the 18th century, demolishing a corner tower to create a pavilion with timber galleries and enlarging the gardens. Restoration work carried out in 2007 revealed fragmentary wall paintings in the choir (12th–15th centuries) and in the nave (17th century). The château enjoys threefold protection as a historic monument: it was registered in 1929, its towers were classified in 1931, and its facades and roofs were classified in 1993. It houses the Musée Gourdel, devoted to the sculptors Julien and Pierre Gourdel, who were natives of Châteaugiron.