Château de Boumois was built by René de Thory, Lord of Boumois, and lasted from 1520 to 1546. Several archival documents relating to contracts concluded with the region's master craftsmen date the vaults from the kitchen and the pantry and the two staircases leading down to the cellar from 1520. The dwelling and the south wing were built during the same period, while the dovecote was fitted out in 1524 and an enclosure wall was built around 1530. to the chapel, it was consecrated in 1546. It should be noted that the canopy of this one was sold and reassembled in the United States.
During the Wars of Religion, the castle was reinforced by bastions, and watchtowers were added to the gate. Several families succeeded each other as owners of the estate, and changes were made over the centuries. The chateau thus lost a wing in 1859.
Affected by a bombardment in 1944, the chateau was partly ruined. It has been restored over 30 year and today, the château, which has regained its luster, bears again witness to an architecture of transition between Gothic and Renaissance. The influence of this one is notable on the level of the decorations. Flanked by a reconstituted walkway, we therefore observe the dwelling with a Renaissance façade adjoined by a corner tower, the Italianate gate from the 17th century and its watchtowers, and vaulted rooms linking the dwelling and the chapel.
A park with its moat overlooks the river. Still private property, the castle is not open to the public. You can admire the building and its exteriors during a walk along the Loire
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.