Meung-sur-Loire castle
Castle Meung-sur-Loire is a Loire castle in the village of Meung-sur-Loire in the Loiret department of the Center-Val de Loire region in France , about 20 kilometers west of Orléans .
Meung-sur-Loire Castle is located in the center of the village on a small hill on the Loire . Originally a medieval castle stood here , built in 1101 by Ludwig Vl. , the fat one, and which remained in the possession of the Meung family for several generations. The last of the line was Jean de Meung , who became known for his continuation and completion of the rose novel ( Roman de la Rose ) begun by Guillaume de Lorris .
From the 12th to the 18th century, the castle served as the residence of the Bishops of Orléans. It was occupied by the English during the Hundred Years' War , but on June 14, 1429 Joan of Arc, a few weeks after the liberation of Orléans, also drove it from this position. In 1461 François Villon was imprisoned in the castle for several months on the episcopal side. He would almost have been hanged had it not been for the newly crowned King Louis XI. pardoned on the occasion of a visit.
In the 17th century the castle was abandoned and fell into disrepair. Louis XIV finally offered Bishop Louis-Gaston Fleuriau d'Armenonville a large sum of money to maintain the property. The subsequent renovation work and extensions left the old towers and the original main building untouched.
The Spanish educator, politician and author Pablo de Olavide had retired here during the reign of terror , la Terreur during the French Revolution of 1791 until his arrest in 1794.
In 1791 Baron Jean-Jacques Lecoulteux, later founder of the Banque de France and Mayor of Meung, bought the castle, the interior of which was radically changed in the 19th century. Today you can see furniture from different periods in the differently furnished 21 rooms.
literature
- Castles and cities of the Loire . Valoire-Estel, Florence 2006, ISBN 88-476-1863-0 , p. 18.
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 49 '24.1 " N , 1 ° 41' 39.6" E