Château de Châteaudun

Château de Châteaudun

The Château de Châteaudun is a castle located in the town of Châteaudun in the French département of Eure-et-Loir.

History

The castle was built between the 12th and 16th centuries.

The Count of Blois Thibaut V had the keep built around 1170. The Sainte-Chapelle was built between 1451 and 1493. The choir and the high chapel were built between 1451 and 1454, with the nave and the oratory between 1460 and 1464.

Jehan de Dunois, the bâtard d'Orléans (Bastard of Orléans), built the west wing (the "aile Dunois") between 1459 and 1468.

The bell tower was erected in 1493.

François I of Orléans-Longueville^[1] began construction of the north wing (the "aile Longueville") between 1469 and 1491. The upper floors were added by François II d'Orléans-Longueville and his descendants during the first quarter of the 16th century.

Today

The Longueville wing of the château of Châteaudun.

The castle includes:

• a keep from the 12th century, 31m (~90 ft) high (wall), 42m (~138 ft) high (entire height), 17m (~56 ft) in diameter
• a chapel from the 15th century (one of the 7 remaining Sainte Chapelle kind of chapels in France)
• the Dunois wing from the 15th century
• the Longueville wing from the end of the 15th century

The château overlooks the Loir river. Perched on a limestone outcrop, it shows its origins as a 12th-century fortress. Converted by Jean de Dunois during the Renaissance into a comfortable residence, the main body of the building is roofed in the gothic style. It still has, notably, a finely carved staircase from this period.

Renovated since the 1930s, the castle has been classed as a historic monument (monument historique) since 1918.

See also

• List of castles in France

Notes

1. François d'Orléans-Longueville (1447–1491), Count of Dunois, Tancarville, Longueville, and Montgomery, Baron of Varenguebec, Viscount of Melun, Chamberlain of France, Governor of Normandy and the Dauphiné, Constable and Chamberlain of Normandy, married July 2, 1466 to Agnès de Savoie (1445–1508).

External links

• Ministry of Culture listing (French)
  • Ministry of Culture photos
• Official site of the town (French)
• Full history and lot pictures Château de Châteaudun (French)

References

• www.culture.gouv.fr, accessed 29 Jan 2007
• Additional detail translated from this Wikipedia article « fr:Chateaudun » , specifically from this version.

Coordinates: 48°4′14″N 1°19′25″E / 48.07056°N 1.32361°E