Le Plessis-Bourré castle
The Château du Plessis-Bourré is located near the French town Écuillé , 15 kilometers north of the city of Angers , in the department of Maine-et-Loire . The feudal dwelling was completed within five years at the end of the Middle Ages and presents itself practically unchanged to today's visitors.
Late Middle Ages fortress
The client was Jean Bourré, who at the time served as the Privy Councilor and Treasurer under Louis XI. served and also under Charles VIII and Louis XII. was Secretary of Finance until his death in 1506. He had Langeais Castle built between 1465 and 1467 . In 1462 he acquired the Plessis-le-Vent fiefdom in Anjou , the region of his origin, and in 1468 he started his own residence. Thanks to his wealth, the construction work progressed quickly so that he was able to move in as early as 1473.
From the outside, the castle looks like a fortress. The four-winged building with round corner towers on a rectangular floor plan is surrounded by a wide-area ditch. The strongest and highest tower at 44 meters is the Donjon , the design of which with a battlement and a recessed upper floor is based on the towers of Langeais Castle. A three meter wide platform around the castle was used to set up the artillery in the event of a defense .
Feudal abode
A 43-meter-long stone bridge leads from the 17th century farm yard over the moat to the entrance building of the castle, which is secured with a double drawbridge and machicolation . Entrance wing and side wing were reduced in height so that the three-story rear part dominates as the main wing. Lukarnen and polygonal stair towers set additional accents. Jean Bourre's wife, Marguerite de Feschal, is said to have been actively involved in setting up and decorating Plessis.
Inside, the great salon of Louis XV stands out. out, whose finely carved paneling is decorated with flower motifs. The parliament hall with its original floor paneling, which served as a dining room for festive occasions, is spanned by a flat ribbed vault; The main piece of equipment is its mighty fireplace.
The most important room in the castle is the garden room on the first floor with a painted wooden ceiling that is unique in France. 24 image fields on either side of the central bar contain depictions of animals with a certain symbolic meaning as well as figurative representations together with proverbs, satirical texts and funny and daring verses.
literature
- Wilfried Hansmann : The Loire Valley. Castles, churches and cities in the «Garden of France» . 2nd Edition. DuMont, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-7701-3555-5 , p. 217 ( online ).
- Jean-Marie Pérouse de Montclos, Robert Polidori : Castles in the Loire Valley . Könemann, Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-89508-597-9 , p. 280 .
- Castles and cities of the Loire . Valoire-Estel Verlag, Florence 2006, ISBN 88-476-1863-0 , p. 154.
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 36 '3.3 " N , 0 ° 32" 39.7 " W.