Saumur Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Built at the confluence of the Loire and the Thouet, on the eastern edge of Anjou, Saumur Castle succeeded fortifications from the 10th century attributed to Theobald the Trickster, Count of Blois. Fulk Nerra, Count of Anjou, seized it in 1026. Brought under the crown by Philip II Augustus, it was raised in height under Saint Louis in 1227. From 1367, Louis I of Anjou replaced the old round towers with octagonal ones. King René later improved its comforts to the point of nicknaming it ‘château d'amour’. It appears in the September calendar page of the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry. In the 16th century, star-shaped bastions strengthened its defences. Used as a prison under Louis XIV and under Napoleon, then as an ammunition depot, it was bought back from the State by the town, which installed museums there. A section of the north rampart collapsed in April 2001; the reconstruction was completed in 2007. Listed as a Monument historique since 1964, it belongs to the commune and houses the castle museum.