Château de Lassay

Lassay-les-Châteaux, France

The Château de Lassay is a 15th-century castle in Lassay-les-Châteaux. The first mention of a castrum in Lassay dates back to the 12th century. Owned by Charles de Vendôme at the beginning of the 15th century, the castle was destroyed by French troops as Charles de Vendôme supported the English during the Hundred Years War.

In 1458, the French king Charles VII allowed the son of Charles de Vendôme, Jean II, to rebuild a castle. The new castle was achieved within one year. The barbican was built in 1497-1498.

Since then, the castle has been left mainly intact and the original 15th-century architecture preserved by the different owners of the castle.

The castle is listed as a Monument historique since 1862. It is open for visiting from April to September.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 12th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

tracey tait (18 days ago)
Wonderful family owned chateau in a sweet little town. Worth a short visit or day trip. (Many ex-pats in town so english is not a problem)
baabelfish (14 months ago)
A beautiful castle to walk through, when asked, the tour guide kindly gave us a folder with the English translation of the tour notes given by the friendly guide. We were able to mostly follow what was being presented. A stunning little village. Definitely one to see.
DameFairy (14 months ago)
The Château is well maintained and the guided tour is well organized, we felt like we’ve seen the whole château inside & out (with the secret passage ?. Totally worth a visit if you’re around this area.
Stephen Childs (15 months ago)
Access by guided tour only but reasonably priced. Tour was in French but booklets provided in English with most of the same info. Castle itself is impressive and very well maintained.
Jolanda Bolt (16 months ago)
Beautiful castle, that's still lived in. Not allowed to photograph (which was okay). But one pet peeve about French tourist attractions is the lack of English explanations. You're guided through the castle, which is great. The guide talked a lot but never translated anything in English (while he could speak English). We got a list of stuff we could see, but it only said: chest, XVIth century. The guide obviously explained much, much more about it. So all this was wasted on us, which was a real pity. It doesn't have to be long, but just a little effort to try would make it much better. While I understand that not all castles can have guided tours by tablet like Chateau Guillaume-le-Conquérant in Falaise, even a longer handout would improve it or take the time to translate.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Abbey of Saint-Georges

Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.

The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).