The Château de la Haute-Guerche is located in the ancient village of Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné, now part of the municipality of Val du Layon. It was built in the 13th and 15th centuries. Having belonged to the Savonnière family and then to the Lords of Jumellière, the castle was burnt down in 1793 during the repression of the Chouans and Vendée uprisings. Sold as national property, transformed into a stone quarry and then into a farm, it was not until the 20th century that the whole was preserved as much as possible.
Originally equipped with a house overlooking the Layon and a courtyard with four towers as well as an enclosure with a walkway lined with watchtowers, the fortress is still in the state of vestiges. However, its chapel and the guardhouse building have been restored.
The whole remains imposing and the silhouette of the domain does not lack character in the middle of the hillsides and vineyards dominating the valley.
Open weekends in May, June and September and every day in July and August, as well as by appointment the rest of the year.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.