En un regard
Le château en bref
Vitré Castle, at the western end of the walled town, succeeded a first wooden castle built around the year 1000. Baron Robert I of Vitré had the first stone castle built at the end of the 11th century; the building was rebuilt on a triangular plan in the 13th century, following the rocky outcrop, with a gatehouse fronted by a double drawbridge, the Saint-Laurent Tower (main keep) and the Madeleine Tower. A Romanesque portal survives from the original construction, while Renaissance galleries and an oratory (1530) were added later. Passing to the counts of Laval and then to the families of Rieux and Coligny, the castle sheltered Protestants and for a time became a Huguenot stronghold, enduring a five-month siege in 1589. Declining in the 17th and 18th centuries, it served successively as a prison, a barracks and then a school. One of the first French castles to be listed as a historic monument in 1872, it was restored from 1875 by the architect Darcy. It has housed a museum since 1876; the town hall occupies a medieval lodging rebuilt within the fortifications.
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