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Origin and history

The Cigogné dungeon is a square tower, the last vestige of a medieval castle built in the late 13th or early 14th century. Located in the capital of the commune, it stands in the immediate vicinity of Notre Dame church, northeast of it. This square-planed dungeon was initially connected to a building body that is now extinct, but only one wall remains. It was the seat of a lay fief dependent on the Archdiocese of Tours, illustrating a dual power between the Church and the local nobility.

The tower, built in irregular rubble with wide-angle links, lost its original crown. Its four angles used to have corbelled scalds, supported by buttocks still partially visible. The ground floor, vaulted in cradle, contrasts with the upper floors, once separated by floors. A door window surmounted by an oculus illuminates the west facade of the first floor, accessible today by an external wooden staircase. An underground, now walled, is reported at its base.

The fief of Cigogné was already mentioned in the 11th century as property of Lisois of Amboise, companion of Foulques Nerra, Count of Anjou. This architectural face-to-face between the dungeon (laic fief) and the church (depending on the Saint-Julien Abbey of Tours) symbolizes tensions and collaborations between secular and religious power in the Middle Ages. In the vicinity, a circular runaway in ruins, probably dating back to the 16th century, bears witness to the subsequent evolution of the site.

Ranked a historic monument since June 18, 1962, the dungeon is not visiting, remaining a private property. Its present state reflects both its past importance and the transformations undergone over the centuries, from its construction to the progressive erasure of the other elements of the castle.

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