Vieux Chateau de Isle d'Yeu

Île d'Yeu, France

The Vieux-château de l'île d'Yeu ("Old castle of the Isle of Yeu") is a fortification on the island of île d'Yeu. Olivier IV de Clisson, a great builder of castles, undertook the work with the aim of protecting the islanders in the event of foreign invasion. The longest of these had been led by the famous English pirate, Robert Knolles, who managed to seize the castle in 1355 and occupied the island for 37 years. In 1381, the île d'Yeu was retaken during the reconquest of Poitou by Olivier V de Clisson.

During the Renaissance, Jean V de Rieux, master of the isle, erected towered walls around the castle. This type of construction was carried out by Italian engineers brought back from the Italian Wars by King Francis I. Later, Vauban perfected this style of military architecture for his famous forts. This protection proved effective in 1550 when several thousand Spanish soldiers attacked from the north. Held in check under the walls by the local garrison, they were forced to retreat by sea to the Iberian peninsula.

The Vieux-château, made obsolete by the construction between (1654 and 1660) of small coastal forts following Vauban's technique, was demolished at the end of the 17th century, along with several other ancient castles on the French coast, by order of Louis XIV, worried that they could be taken by an enemy and used as strong points.

Hergé was inspired by the Vieux-château in the design of the Adventures of Tintin comic book The Black Island.

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Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Valois Dynasty and Hundred Year's War (France)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Setheary VAN (6 years ago)
Château très agréable à voir. C'est un très bon lieu touristique à voir mais il faut faire de la marche pour aller jusqu'au château mais sinon le paysage est magnifique
Chris TOF (6 years ago)
Parking vélo juste avant. Accès a pied uniquement sauf pour ceux qui ne savent ni lire ni regarder les pictogrammes. Cadre magnifique. Payant pour le visiter 1,5€ sans visite guidée et il y a des horaires. A voir au minimum !
martial lobrot (6 years ago)
Vestige d'un chateau fort qui a traversé le temps. Le seul petit hic pour moi est la visite qui est payante pour voir des vieilles pierres, je sais bien qu'il faut sauver le patrimoine, mais une simple demande de participation serai plus acceptable.
Christophe SEGUINAUD (6 years ago)
Joli château en ruine situé au sud de l'île d'Yeu. Visites guidées à certaines heures pour 5€ ou visites libres entre 13h30 et 14h45 pour 1,5€ par personne. Vue sympathique sur l'environnement proche.
Andrea Moro (6 years ago)
It's ok as a castle, but certainly not one of the best I've seen. Entrance is limited to small groups every other hand an hour as far as I could see, in fact when I was there I couldn't enter, and being tight with my bus time I decided not to go for it. Had a little snoop in through the gate and that's when I decided not to stay.
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