Clisson

Short history of the castle:

The castle was built in the middle of the 11th century and was one of the great fortified places on the frontiers of the Duchy of Brittany.

Most of the present castle was built in the 13th century. Constructed by Guillaume de Clisson, on a rocky outcrop dominating the Sèvre Nantaise, its form at that time was an irregular polygon flanked by round towers and isolated from the rocky plateau by a shallow moat.

In the 14th century, Olivier III de Clisson incorporated the gatehouse into a massive quadrilangular keep.

In the 15th century, the fortifications were modernised to permit the use of artillery.

During the War in the Vendée, the town and its castle were burned by the Infernal columns of Jean-Baptiste Kléber.

During the 19th century, the ruined castle attracted Romantic painters and sculptors.

In 1962, the castle was sold by the Lamot family to the Conseil général of the Loire-Atlantique, who carried out important restoration works with the assistance of the French Ministry of Culture.


Opening Times and additionnal information:

Open all year, everyday (except Tuesday)
May to September: from 11am to 6.30pm
October to April: from 2pm to 5.30pm

Price of visits:
Adults 2,20 euros
Students, Children (under 12), Retired: 1,50 euros

contact@mairie-clisson.fr

Lavardin

Agrandir le plan

Shortened history of the castle :

The remains of the Château de Lavardin stand on a rocky promontory, above the village of Lavardin and the Loir.

The first castle, built by Solomon de Lavardin, dates to the beginning of the 11th century, and must have consisted of a wooden keep on a motte, protecting a manor house on the summit of the promontory.

Then, from the 12th to the 15th century, the castle was rebuilt completely, entirely out of stone this time. It was composed of four enclosures surrounding a quadrangular keep, the whole built on three rock platforms excavated in the Middle Ages to increase height.

Of the first enclosure there remains a large gatehouse or "châtelet", with several embrasures for cannons (about 1400).

With a height of 26 meters, the keep dominates the village and the valley.

Opening times and additionnal information :

There is free access to the site. The castle is almost inside the village.

Lassay

Agrandir le plan

Shortened history of the castle:

The castle was probably built in the early years of the twelfth century, and looked like a dungeon on a mound. Nothing is writen though about this castle appart from a text of 1387, which says that the castle was a small tower.

When the English armies marched over northern France, circa 1420, the Duchess of Anjou, Mayenne lady, ordered by royal decree, the destruction of the castle, too weak to stand up and already damaged in 1417.

Peace once achieved, King Charles VII, by letter dated February 8, 1458, allowed Jehan II de Vendome "to build his new castle on the old demolished and ruined site". In one year only, the imposing fortress visible today stood, in the shape of anirregular octagon, with 8 towers. This is a typical castle of mid-fifteenth century, taking into account the use of firearms, either in defense or in attack.

Opening times and additional information: