Laval Castle
| Laval Castle | ||
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 Laval Castle |
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| Alternative name (s): | Château de Laval | |
| Creation time : | 11th century | |
| Conservation status: | receive | |
| Place: | Laval | |
| Geographical location | 48 ° 4 '7.4 " N , 0 ° 46' 16.3" W | |
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The castle Laval is located in the city of Laval in Mayenne in the region Pays de la Loire in France .
history
The first Laval seigneury is found in the history books at the beginning of the 11th century. The castle Laval was the Gui I de Dénéré (or de Laval), vassal of the Count of Maine , Herbert I. Eveille Chien built. The last direct descendant, Emma de Laval, married Mathieu de Montmorency in the 13th century , so that the manor passed into the possession of this family. When in 1412 the male line of Laval-Montmorency with the death of Gui XII. expired, the property fell to his son-in-law, Jean Montfort-Gaël. This took the name Gui XIII in consideration of the local tradition. on. His son and companion of Joan of Arc , Gui XIV, succeeded him in 1415. In 1429 King Charles VII raised the seigneurie to a county. After the death of Guy XVII de Laval, Comte de Laval et de Montfort, in 1547 the castle fell to the daughter of his sister, Renée de Rieux, Countess of Laval, a Huguenot who, with her husband Louis de Sainte-Maure, Marquis de Nesle , was in constant struggle. Later the castle fell to the de La Trémoille ; Until 1794 the castle was the residence of the Counts of Laval of this family.
During the French Revolution , the so-called Petit-Château was used as a military hospital before it was taken over by the tribunal in 1795.
On January 27, 1794, Antoine-Philippe de La Trémoille, Count of Laval, was guillotined in front of the main portal .
Louis-Stanislas de La Trémoïlle finally sold it in 1821 together with the adjoining New Palace , today's Palace of Justice, for 90,000 francs to the city. She made a prison out of it, which was only dissolved in 1908.
Fortress construction
The fortress is perched on a rocky promontory above the River Mayenne . The complex formerly enclosed a large, polygonal area, flanked by seven round towers , including a large donjon in the northeast. Little remains of the surrounding wall and towers. Today's complex consists primarily of a square block of flats built between the 13th and 15th centuries. The part called the crypt below the north wing could be even older. The window front of the residence is evidence of the early efforts to create pleasant living conditions. The facades of the inner courtyard are shaped by the Gothic period, but also show influences from the Renaissance.
The mighty main tower rises outside at the rear corner of the building. It is 45 meters high, 14 meters in diameter, and its walls are 2.50 meters thick. The base of the tower seems to date from the Romanesque period. The gate was protected by a drawbridge with chains. The windows on the south facade date from the 16th century.
The most impressive is certainly the overhanging top of the tower, which, including the roof, is 9.50 meters high. This is an original from the 13th century and not a replica from the 19th century like the Donjon of Rouen . These clerestory, defense establishment and residence of the watchman , the oldest in France. Fold-up wooden panels protected the defenders from view and projectiles, while at the same time they could pour stones and boiling liquids onto the attackers through openings.
Museum of Naive Art
Since 1966 the castle has housed the Musée du vieux-château called the Museum of Naive Painting , which shows works by the most important artists of this field. These include Henri Rousseau , who was born in Laval, and Séraphine Louis , known as Sérapine de Senlis.
literature
- Wilfried Koch: Architectural style . Bassermann Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-8094-5007-3 , p. 296.
- Louis-Julien Morin de La Beauluère: Le château de Laval . A. Goupil, Laval 1892 ( online ).
