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Origin and history

The castle of Etampes, now reduced to its turn Guinette, was originally built under the reign of Robert the Pious west of the collegiate Notre Dame. The present dungeon, of quadrilobed shape (72 m in diameter), was built around 1140 by order of Louis VII, on a plateau overlooking the valleys of the June and Chalouette. He controlled the Paris-Orléans strategic road, vital to the royal domain. Its location, at 100 m above sea level, offered an ideal defensive position, reinforced by stable geological layers (calcareous, sandstone, marne).

In the 12th century, Philippe Auguste added two square enclosures connected by bridges, transforming the site into a major fortress. From 1201 to 1213, the dungeon served as a prison for Queen Ingeburge, exiled by her husband. The castle was then contested in major conflicts: taken by the English in 1358 and taken over by Charles V, given to Jean de Berry in 1387, and besieged by Jean sans Peur in 1411. In the 15th century, it housed Charles the Temerary (1465) and Queens Anne of Brittany (1513) and Claude of France (1516).

The fortress declined after the Wars of Religion: in 1589 Henry IV authorized its dismantling by the inhabitants to reuse the stones. Only the dungeon escaped destruction. Sold as a national good during the Revolution, the tower was partially razed and turned into a career. Saved in 1859 by the town of Etampes, it was classified as a historical monument in 1862. Today, threatened by pollution and pigeons, it is the subject of a call for donations for its restoration.

Architecturally, the dungeon is distinguished by its clover structure with four lobes, each 7 m in diameter, and a height of 36 m. It included a central well, vaulted rooms (including a hall with fireplaces and alcoves), and a complex defensive system: ditches, drawbridges, murderers, and a trap ("defence hole") for the attackers. Three successive enclosures, with towers and chapels (like the St. Lawrence Chapel), protected the whole. The slope of the terrain strengthened its imposing appearance.

The Guinette Tower was also the setting for historical anecdotes: Gillette La Mercière, a child forced to marry Pol de Limburg (author of the Duke of Berry's Very Rich Hours), was imprisoned there at the age of 8. In the 20th century, composer Ennio Morricone recorded a tribute to the Second World War fighters (1976). The castle also appears in the film Hannibal Lecter: Origins of Evil.

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