Apremont Castle (Vendée)
Apremont Castle is a ruined castle in the center of the French commune of Apremont , Vendée department . The ruin is since 2 December 1926 as inscribed monument historique under monument protection . The associated castle chapel was classified as an independent monument historique on September 30, 1975. The name Apremont comes from the Latin : Asper Mons = rough mountain.
The few parts of the former castle from the 16th century that have remained undamaged are the two round towers , a chapel and a winding ramp, over which one could ride on horseback from the castle courtyard into the surroundings.
history
The castle, which is located in the center of the village about 100 meters west of the church, goes back to a fortification from the 11th century, which was located on the northern bank of the Vie . This facility could only be reached from the north. Today's entrance gate is still at this point. On the south side the fortification was protected by the river and on the east and west by two natural hollows. In 1468 it was besieged by 3,000 Bretons trying to free prisoners.
From around 1534, Philippe Chabot , Admiral of France , had a castle built on the site of the old complex, which was one of the first Renaissance buildings in the Vendée. The cross-floor window of the representative Corps de Logis already show the features of the new style, while the two large flanking circular towers , despite their outstanding balconies with balusters - parapet by their several meters thick walls still clear echoes of the medieval show military architecture. The facade of the Corps des Logis towards the roof was completed by a surrounding frieze of maritime symbols - a reminder of the admiral title of the builder, who, however, never went to sea himself. The size of the building can still be guessed by the remains of the wall on the towers. The east tower is 40 meters high and has a diameter of 12 meters, the diameter of the west tower is three meters smaller.
Philippe Chabot's vision was to enable visitors to the property to travel up the Vie by ship. The meadow in front of the castle should serve as a landing stage for the guests, from where they should be able to ride in on horseback through the rider vault , a wide tunnel with a height of five to six meters. After leaving the vault, which is unique in Europe, visitors should be dazzled by the sheen of the facade. However, the builder could no longer enjoy his work, because in 1541 he fell out of favor with King Francis I for alleged infidelity and embezzlement and was sentenced to pay an enormous sum of money. Although he was rehabilitated a short time later , he died a little later in 1543. In order to be able to raise the amount that he had been sentenced to pay, Philippe Chabot Apremont and other goods had to be passed on to Jean IV. De Brosse , Duke of Étampes and Count of Penthièvre , cede. This ruined itself by organizing extravagant parties for his wife Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly . Since he had no descendants, Apremont Castle fell to the La Trémoille family after his death and finally passed to the Montmorency- Luxembourg family in the 17th century .
In 1622 Louis XIII stayed . after the victory against the Protestants led by Benjamin de Rohan briefly at Apremont Castle, in order to then begin the siege of La Rochelle . The last owner of the castle, Charles Paul Sigismond de Montmorency-Luxembourg (1697–1785), ordered the buildings to be demolished in 1733 because their maintenance had become too expensive for him. The stones were sold to contractors in the area, part of which was reused for the construction of the Pirmil Bridge in Nantes . After re-fortification, the castle was occupied by the Spaniards in 1742, plundered and set on fire after they left. Today the castle is owned by the municipality Apremont and since 1978, funded by State and Territory , restored . The current building, which connects the two towers, now houses the Apremont Town Hall .
literature
- Jean-Pierre Babelon: Châteaux de France au siècle de la Renaissance . Flammarion, Paris 1989, ISBN 2-08-012062-X , pp. 251-252 .
- Vaness Yager (Ed.): Ouverts au public. Le guide du patrimoine en France . Monum, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-85822-683-0 , p. 590.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry no. PA00110016 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ↑ Short history and description of the castle ruins (English) ( Memento of 8 February 2009 at the Internet Archive )
- ↑ A brief history and photos of the castle , accessed on July 4th.
- ^ Jean-Pierre Babelon: Châteaux de France au siècle de la Renaissance . Flammarion, Paris 1989, ISBN 2-08-012062-X , pp. 251 .
Coordinates: 46 ° 45 ′ 3 " N , 1 ° 44 ′ 23" W.