En un regard
Le château en bref
The ruins of Hédé Castle, in the commune of Hédé-Bazouges, occupy a fortified site dating from the 11th century, captured by the English in 1156. The present stone tower was built in the 12th and 13th centuries to replace an earlier motte. Square in plan with corner buttresses, it measured 4 m thick and 22 to 23 m high, with a basement, a ground floor used for storage and defence, and three residential storeys. The enclosure of the lower bailey, nine-sided with angular defensive projections, was rebuilt at the end of the 14th century by Duke John IV. French troops seized it without resistance in 1488, after their victory at Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier. Philippe-Emmanuel de Lorraine held it briefly in 1597 before King Henry IV ordered its demolition the following year. The remains, essentially the eastern section of the keep and the walls of the courtyard, have been listed as Monuments historiques since 14 October 1926. The site today contains basketball courts and a skateboard ramp installed in 2015.