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Origin and history

The castle of Blandy-les-Tours, located in the Seine-et-Marne department in Île-de-France, was originally built as a fortified mansion in the early 13th century by the Viscounts of Melun, descendants of Adam II, a companion of Philip Auguste. Its strategic location, at the border of Champagne County, made it a symbol of royal power in an area then fragmented among local lords. The first fortifications included an irregular enclosure, a square tower and three circular towers, including a dungeon.

In the 14th century, during the Hundred Years' War, the castle was thoroughly remodeled by the Counts of Tancarville, John II and William IV, thanks to royal grants from Charles V and Charles VI. The amendments include widening the ditches, adding three large round towers (including a new dungeon and Archives Tower), an arrowed drawbridge, and a round path. These developments made it a major fortress, before it became a luxurious aristocratic residence in the 15th and 16th centuries for prestigious families such as Orléans-Longueville and Bourbon-Soissons.

In the 17th century, the Marshal of Villars, who became Duke in 1705, acquired Blandy and transformed him into an agricultural farm in 1707, removing the roofs of the towers, filling the ditches and partially destroying the houses. This paradoxical change allowed the castle to escape revolutionary destruction, although its gradual abandonment in the 19th century reduced it to a state of ruin. The medieval houses, which were considered not authentic, were demolished in the 1880s, leaving only the defensive enclosure.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1889, the castle was bought in 1992 by the Seine-et-Marne departmental council. An ambitious restoration campaign, led by architect Jacques Moulin, restored to the monument its appearance at the end of the 16th century, while keeping traces of its 250 years of abandonment. Since its reopening in 2007, the site combines heritage preservation and contemporary creation, welcoming exhibitions, shows and artist residences.

Blandy-les-Tours Castle was also a high place of Protestantism in the 16th century. Thanks to Jacqueline de Rohan, widow of François d'Orléans-Longueville, who embraced Calvinist reform in Switzerland, the estate became a refuge for persecuted Huguenots. In 1563 John Calvin praised his role as a "hospital for scattered sheep." The marriage of Marie de Clèves with Henri I of Bourbon in 1572 brought together the Protestant elite, a few weeks before the massacre of Saint Bartholomew.

Archaeological excavations of medieval latrines, carried out in the 1990s, revealed a refined daily life: varied food (meat, fish, spices), Parisian ceramic dishes, and hygiene practices advanced for the time. These discoveries offer a rare testimony of the lifestyles of the Lords of Blandy between the 14th and 16th centuries.

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