The Château des Ducs de La Trémoille (Castle of the Dukes of La Tremoille) was built in the 17th century. It is located on a strategic defense point, a promontory above the Thouet river, and consists of the main building, an inner court, an orangery, a chapel and a stable.
There has been castles on the site of château since 10th century. Gabrielle de Bourbon, wife of Louis II de La Trémoille ordered the construction of the chapel built between 1503 and 1509 which is still visible today. The chapel is of flamboyant gothic style for the lower part and influenced by Italian Renaissance for the upper gallery.
In 1619, Henri de La Trémoille married Marie de La Tour d'Auvergne. In the year 1628 the duchess and her intendent the sieur d'Iray oversaw the construction of a small pavilion. She then proceeded to order the building of the South pavilion for her apartments in the year 1635 and decided later to build a newer, more luxurious castle in place of the old one. The construction began in 1638. At the time it was one of the most important castles in France with its 110-meter long façade and its main courtyard (Cour d'honneur) surrounded by 70-metre long galleries. The south side contained the gardens and the orangery, outbuildings and an unfinished stable later complemented the site.
Today the palace is open to the public in summer season.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.