Château de Meung-sur-Loire

Meung-sur-Loire, France

The Château de Meung-sur-Loire, located next to the collegial church, was the country residence of the Bishops of Orléans. It was built and destroyed several times. The oldest still existing parts date from the 13th century and were built by Manassès de Seignelay (bishop from 1207 to 1221). Still standing are the main rectangular plan building, flanked by three towers, a fourth having been destroyed.

During the Hundred Years' War, the building was transformed into a fortress; it was taken from the English by Joan of Arc on 14 June 1429. At the end of the 15th century and start of the 16th century, building to the north incorporated a tower with drawbridge. The castle was abandoned from the Wars of Religion until the start of the 18th century, when Bishop Fleuriau d'Armenonville undertook the transformation of the structure into a comfortable residence.The rear façade was rebuilt in the Classical style by d'Armenonville. Beneath the castle are dungeons, a chapel and various medieval torture instruments, including one used for water torture.

In the middle of the 18th century, a wing was added to the southeast with a staircase serving the upper floors of the wing. In 1784, the chapel was built in the Neoclassical style, with sculpture by Delaistre. The two pavilions in the grounds are contemporary with this chapel.

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Details

Founded: ca. 1200
Category: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Late Capetians (France)

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Arne Roels (7 months ago)
Nice place to visit with children between 4 and 12. You can do a short castle visits and afterwards go to see some dragon statues and finally some fantastic trampolines that are suspended in the air around 4 metres above the ground. A lot of fun and very spectacular. Nice place to be for 2 - 4 hours
Kari M (7 months ago)
This castle was very special. I appreciated the actors walking around in the main house, they were really funny. The outdoor space was cool, too! The dragons were fun to look at and the stories were interesting. We also had a lot of fun on the big trampoline as well!
Julie Gardner (10 months ago)
An interesting royal chateau to see after the Louvre and Versailles. There's quite a contrast, this one on a much smaller scale but well furnished with plenty of curious artefacts. There are explanations in multiple languages available. It is privately owned and needs a bit of tlc which hopefully the new owners can lavish on it without spoiling its authenticity.
Alistair Walter (11 months ago)
Wonderful place. Had a lovely time with the dragons and enjoyed the magnificent house and history. Beautiful artifacts inside, some eclectic and a real glimpse into 800 years of history. Thank you
Burcso Erika (2 years ago)
Nice castle. One of the local resident recommended to visit this place and I’m happy that we did. The castle is 800 years old, you can see how people’s use to live, what they use to wear. The most exciting part for me was the attic that was huge and also the tunnels under the castle. I don’t remember being able see tunnels under any other castles before, you could see the great job they done that it still in perfect condition. I’m sure that if you visit this castle you wont regret it.
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