The castle stands on the side of the Nantes-Brest canal. It has 12 towers and covers an area of 4 hectares.
Historyedit
Tour du Sud-Ouest, Tour du Pont-Levis and Tour des prisons
The first castle was constructed on the orders of Alan IV, Duke of Brittany, around 1108. The fortress passed by marriage to the Clisson family in 1225. Following Olivier I of Clisson's revolt against the Duke, the castle was razed in 1260.
Olivier I's son, Olivier II obtained permission from the Duke to rebuild the castle. The Clissons progressively enlarged the castle during the 14th century.
During the French Wars of Religion, the castle was besieged and set on fire in 1591 during fighting between the Duke of Mercœur and Jean de Montauban, the knight De Goust. It was restored by Catherine de Parthenay, who installed herself there with her children. In 1628, Henri II, Duke of Rohan, having become the leader of the Protestant princes, Cardinal Richelieu ordered that the castle be dismantled resulting in the loss of its military role.[2]
The castle suffered further serious damage during the French Revolution. It was pillaged and burnt, along with the Rohan family archives. It served as a barracks and later as a prison.
It passed through the hands of several proprietors, including Marie Bonaparte in 1918. These owners remodelled the north wing (known as the Logis du Roy) and the Mill Tower (la tour du moulin).[1]
Architectureedit
North wing of Château de Blain, the logis du Roi, remodelled in the 19th century
The South West Tower and the Drawbridge Tower, along with the buildings on either side, form the entrance to the castle. Along with the Constable's Tower (tour du Connétable), the two towers in the south east and the monumental entrance on the south façade of the logis du Roi, they date from before the 17th century. Together with the remains of the towers and the fortifications linking them, they have been classified as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
The north wing of the logis du Roi was remodelled in the 19th century.
château, blain, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july, 2015,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Chateau de Blain news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Chateau de Blain or Chateau de la Groulais is a mediaeval castle constructed in the 13th century and heavily remodelled in the 16th located in the commune of Blain in the Loire Atlantique departement of France 1 It formed part of the frontier defences of Brittany along with the towns and castles of Vitre Fougeres Chateaubriant Ancenis and Clisson The Chateau de Blain as seen from across the Canal de Nantes a Brest Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Architecture 4 Today 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 References and sources 8 External linksGeography editThe castle stands on the side of the Nantes Brest canal It has 12 towers and covers an area of 4 hectares History edit nbsp Tour du Sud Ouest Tour du Pont Levis and Tour des prisonsThe first castle was constructed on the orders of Alan IV Duke of Brittany around 1108 The fortress passed by marriage to the Clisson family in 1225 Following Olivier I of Clisson s revolt against the Duke the castle was razed in 1260 Olivier I s son Olivier II obtained permission from the Duke to rebuild the castle The Clissons progressively enlarged the castle during the 14th century In 1407 the castle became the property of the House of Rohan Louis Duke of Rohan is buried here During the French Wars of Religion the castle was besieged and set on fire in 1591 during fighting between the Duke of Mercœur and Jean de Montauban the knight De Goust It was restored by Catherine de Parthenay who installed herself there with her children In 1628 Henri II Duke of Rohan having become the leader of the Protestant princes Cardinal Richelieu ordered that the castle be dismantled resulting in the loss of its military role 2 The castle suffered further serious damage during the French Revolution It was pillaged and burnt along with the Rohan family archives It served as a barracks and later as a prison It passed through the hands of several proprietors including Marie Bonaparte in 1918 These owners remodelled the north wing known as the Logis du Roy and the Mill Tower la tour du moulin 1 Architecture edit nbsp North wing of Chateau de Blain the logis du Roi remodelled in the 19th centuryThe South West Tower and the Drawbridge Tower along with the buildings on either side form the entrance to the castle Along with the Constable s Tower tour du Connetable the two towers in the south east and the monumental entrance on the south facade of the logis du Roi they date from before the 17th century Together with the remains of the towers and the fortifications linking them they have been classified as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture The north wing of the logis du Roi was remodelled in the 19th century Today editThe castle houses a fresco centre and an ancient printshop It has been listed since 1977 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture 1 Gallery editGargoyles on the logis du Roy nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp See also editList of castles in France nbsp Media related to Chateau de Blain at Wikimedia CommonsReferences and sources edit a b c Base Merimee Chateau de la Groulais Ministere francais de la Culture in French Le guide vert bretagne Michelin 2000 ISBN 2 06 030907 7 Information panel at the castleExternal links editBase Merimee Chateau de la Groulais Ministere francais de la Culture in French Restoration Association web page of the castle s history in French 47 28 00 N 1 45 53 W 47 46667 N 1 76472 W 47 46667 1 76472 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chateau de Blain amp oldid 1164918960, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
