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Chateau Chinon

Henry Plantagenet lived here and Richard the Lionheart (probably) died here. Most excitingly though, Joan of Arc came here to persuade Charles VII (then dauphin) to toughen up and kick the English out of France. The rest is history, as we say. Don't miss the graffiti in the Caudray tower, carved by Templar knights awaiting execution.

Sitting high on a plateau, a huge castle dominates the entire town. The château Chinon was built on the site of a Gallo-Roman castrum as a fortified stronghold by Theobald I, Count of Blois in the year 954.

In the 12th century Chinon, located in Anjou in present day France, was a primary residence of Henry II (Angevin King and King of England) and served with Poitiers and Bordeaux as a key southern capital of the vast Angevin holdings. Henry was responsible for construction of almost all of the massive chateau, built over 1,300 feet long and 250 feet wide with a clock tower (14th century) rising 115 feet high.

The castle is divided, along its length, into three enclosures, each separated by a deep dry moat. The easternmost is known as Fort St.Georges, the central called the Château de Milieu, while the westernmost is known as the Fort du Coudray. In the early 13th century, following the Capetian annexation of Anjou, a cylindrical keep similar to those at Rouen and Paris, was added by Phillip II Augustus, King of France to the entrance of the Fort du Coudray.

In the keep or donjon, called the Tour de Coudray, Templar knights were imprisoned during the brutal supression of the Templar Order that occurred in 1307.

The chateau was a residence of Charles VII, the dauphin of France in the early 15th century. It is the place where Joan of Arc came on March 8, 1429 to recognize the dauphin and to urge him to declare himself king and raise an army to liberate France from the English.

In 1562 the chateau came into the possession of the Huguenots and was turned into a state prison by Henri IV of France. After that it was abandoned until 1793 when, during the Reign of Terror, the castle was temporarily occupied by Vendeans. Soon though, it was left to decay until Emperor Napoleon III began a partial effort at restoration. Today, it is managed by the Town of Chinon and is a major tourist attraction.

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