Royal Fortress of Chinon
Loire
France
Page 1
Royal Fortress of Chinon, Loire, France, Page Two
Situated at the crsossroads of three provinces - Anjou, Poitou and Touraine - many great figures have visited Chinon in the past. The Counts of Blois, who first built Chinon, ceded the stronghold to the Counts of Anjou in 1044.
The most famous Count of Anjou, Henry Plantagenet, became King of England in 1154 and the fortress acquired its present outline during his reign.In 1205, King Philip II Augustus of France (1180 - 1223) took the
fortress from John Lackland - Henry II's heir - after a long siege resulted in the definitive return of Touraine to the Kingdom of France. Philip Austus considerably developed the Plantagenet fortifications by reinforcing the
fortress on both sides (the Tour de Coudray on the west side, and the Tour de l'Echaugette and Porte des Champs - which no longer exists - on the east)
In 1307, Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Temple, and several of his companions were imprisoned in the Tour de Coudray (Coudray Tower) on the orders of Philip IV, known as Philip the Fair (1285 - 1314),
before being tried and burnt at the stake in Paris in 1314. During the Hundred Years' War (1337 - 1453), Charles VII took refuge at Chinon, where he convened the States General in 1427 and met Joan of Arc in 1429.
The castle started to decline in the 17th century under the ownership of Cardinal Richelieu. In 1808, the fortress was ceded free of charge to the Conseil d'Arrondissement, which is now the Conseil general.
The works undertaken by the Conseil general in the 21st century are an attempt at returning the fortress to its original appearance - three forts separated by moats and linked by a higher wall.
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