Clisson Castle
| Clisson Castle | ||
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 Clisson Castle |
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| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | Received or received substantial parts | |
| Standing position : | Nobles | |
| Place: | Clisson | |
| Geographical location | 47 ° 5 '12 " N , 1 ° 16' 51" W | |
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The Clisson Castle ( French Château de Clisson , Breton : Kastell Klison ) in the Breton town of Clisson is the ancestral home of the Clisson family .
history
At the time of independent Brittany, the hilltop castle in Clisson at a crossroads to Anjou and Poitou was one of the duchy's most important border fortifications. The first lords of Clisson occupied the place at the beginning of the 11th century, they are first mentioned in 1040. Clisson soon became a mighty castle that included 23 parishes .
Most of the current castle complex dates from the 13th century. Guillaume de Clisson had it built on a rock spur above the Sèvre Nantaise , in the form of an irregular polygon with cylindrical towers and separated from the neighboring rock plateau by a shallow ditch. In the 14th century, Olivier III added . de Clisson built the gatehouse into a large rectangular donjon .
In the 15th century, the defenses were renewed to make them usable for the artillery . In the second half of the same century the entrance was rebuilt, the curtain wall was lengthened and a barbican was added. At the same time, the castle was extended to the west by a rectangular courtyard almost 100 meters long, which was provided with towers and casemates for the artillery.
After 1420 the castle became the property of the Breton dukes. It became one of the preferred residences of Duke Francis II , who married Marguerite de Foix here in 1474. He had a second wall built, which was also provided with towers for the artillery. Around 1590, the Huguenot Wars required the construction of three terraced bastions on the south side. Since then, three staggered lines of defense have protected the facility.
In the 17th century, the two semicircular towers from the time the castle was founded collapsed. Until then, it was the residence of the Avaugour family, the descendants of François I d'Avaugour, an illegitimate son of Duke Francis II.
During the Vendeer uprising , the town and castle were burned down by the soldiers of Jean-Baptiste Kléber . In 1807 François-Frédéric Lemot bought the castle with the aim of preserving it.
literature
- Château de Clisson, forteresse médiévale . Leaflet. General Council of the Loire-Atlantique.
