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Visit Chateau Chinon

The Chateau de Chinon (not surprisingly, situated in the town of Chinon, in the Loire Valley) is made up of three separate fortresses, of which two have fallen almost completely in ruins. In fact, two fortresses, the so-called ‘Chateau de Milieu’ and the Castle of Coudray were partly restored, but they have no roof and only a few walls and a few rooms of the ‘Chateau de Milieu’ remain standing.

The Château Chinon was built on the site of a Gallo-Roman castrum as a fortified stronghold by Theobald I, Count of Blois in the year 954. Later, in the 12th century Chinon was a primary residence for Henry II, the King of England and also the King of Anjou (Angevin King). Along with with Poitiers and Bordeaux it served as an important centre for the the vast Angevin holdings.

It is likely that Richard the Lionheart died at Chinon while its most famous event was as the location where Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc) came to persuade Charles VII (at that stage dauphin) to stand up to the English in France - in the Coudray Castle you can see the tower where Joan of Arc was locked up.

King Henry II was responsible for the construction of a great deal of this massive castle that extends to over 400 metres in length and 80 metres wide, with a 14th century clock tower rising 35 metres.

The Coudray Fort, built by Philip II Augustus that reaches the impressive height of over 20 meters and consists of two floors. The entry is enhanced by two massive towers while another tower (the ‘Tour du Moulin’) was built at the time of Henry II Plantagenet (1133-1189) and is equally powerful in its structure (20 meters high and 12 across). Finally the Fort closes itself with the ‘Tour de Boisy’, with walls more than 30 meters and with 3 thick.

The junction with the central part of the castle is given by a stone drawbridge, through which you reach the entrance of the castle, overlooking the clock tower and also of a huge size (over 30 metres high and 5 metres thickness walls). What remains of the Royal apartments is located in the South, while the rest is gone.

The interior is protected by three large towers built between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. The defensive structure of the castle was developed from Fort St. George, now vanished.

Already by the nineteenth century the walled complex was the object of restoration work which were concluded in part in recent years. Upon entry, the Clock Tower is now the seat of the Joan of Arc Museum, full of relics, statues and paintings that summarize the autobiographical story of the young women.