Castle of Loches

Favorite retreat of Charles VII

  • Loches
  • Loches
  • Loches
  • Loches
  • Loches
Alexandre Louis Robert. ( View of the Chateau de Loches and Agnes Sorel turn, location unknown 1819) and, like the Museum Tours pretext to evoke a historical anecdote. If the table of 1814 recalls the loves of Charles VII and Agnes Sorel, the 1819 calls a female figure emblematic of the place, that of Joan of Arc, however does not appear in the main title but in the subtitle Catalogue of the Exhibition of 1819.

It was here on 11 May 1429 that Jeanne d’Arc arrived, fresh from her historic victory at Orleans, to meet the king. After the take-over of the city of Orléans, Charles received Jeanne d’Arc again in the Castle of Loches. Here she finally convinced him to proceed to Rheims and take the crown. It was here on 11 May 1429 that Jeanne d’Arc arrived, fresh from her historic victory at Orleans, to meet the king. The castle has two wings linked end to end.

The older one is taller (north ,15C), was created for Charles VII and used primarily to house his mistress Agnes Sorel. The newer wing (south, 16C) was built for Charles VIII and Louis XII. The rooms are sparsely furnished and decorated. The most important one (historically) is preserved as the room in which Jeanne d’Arc convinced Charles VII to go to Reims to be crowned King establishing France as a sovereign state and legitimate entity.

The Château of Loches is located in the Loire Valley in France. It was constructed in the 9th century, 500 meters above the Indre River, and dominates the town of Loches. The château was designed and occupied by Henry II of England and his son, Richard the Lionheart during the 12th century. The castle withstood the assaults by the French king Philip II in their wars for control of France. It was eventually upgraded into a huge military fortress. Later kings enlarged the building in the Renaissance style converting it from a fort to a hunting lodge.

Loches was the most important town in the southern Touraine, so in medieval times the court came here frequently. The castle would become a favorite retreat of Charles VII of France who gave it to his mistress, Agnès Sorel, as her residence. Loches was later converted for use as a state prison by his son, King Louis XI who had lived there as a child but preferred the royal castle at Amboise. A residence of the kings of France, apart for a brief interlude in 1424 when it was heritably granted to Archibald Douglas, Duke of Touraine. Antoine Guenand, Lord of La Celle-Guenand was appointed Captain-Governor of Loches in 1441.

Plate Commemorating Jeanne d'Arc inside Castle of Loches
Plate Commemorating Jeanne d'Arc outside Castle of Loches
Salle Jeanne d'arc
Salle Jeanne d'arc