Angers Castle

Angers Castle, locally known as Château d'Angers, lies in the city of the same name in the Maine-et-Loire department in France.

As the site of Angers Castle; a ridge overlooking the river Maine, was a strategic position, it was already used by the Romans. A first castle here was built under Count Fulk III, the Black, of Anjou (970-1040).

During the 12th century the castle became part of the Angevin Empire of the Plantagenet Kings of England. The region was conquered by Philip II of France in 1204 and a new castle was constructed during the minority of his grandson, Louis IX, between 1230 and 1242. Louis passed the castle to his brother Charles of Anjou in 1246.

In 1352, King John II, the Good, of France presented Angers Castle to his son Louis I, Duke of Anjou. Louis then had the castle modified during the next decades. His son added the present chapel between and royal apartments around 1410. In 1418, the future king Charles VII sought refuge in the castle while fleeing the troops of the Duke of Burgundy.

Catherine de' Medici had the castle restored as a powerful fortress, but her son Henry III of France reduced the height of the towers and had the towers and walls stripped of their battlements. It was however still a military outpost and artillery was installed on its upper terraces.

During the War in the Vendée, a counter-revolution during the French Revolution, the Angers Castle was unsuccessfully attacked by Vendean troops with cannons. Later, in the 19th century, a military academy was established in the castle. When the academy moved, it was used as a prison, powder magazine and barracks.

During the World Wars of the 20th century it was still being used as an armory. The Nazis occupied the castle in WW II and the castle was severely damaged when an ammunition storage in the castle exploded.

Angers Castle can be visited for a fee. The castle is much visited by tourists, so it can be busy, but this is still a castle I recommend visiting. I especially like its mighty walls.

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