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Origin and history

The Anne-de-Bretagne Tower is a 15th-century building built in Montfort-l'Amaury by the Duchess Anne of Brittany, which made it its place of residence for five years. It dominated the village from a feudal motte at 185 meters altitude and constituted the staircase of a dungeon built on the ruins of a 12th century castle, destroyed during the Hundred Years War. The remains, classified as a historical monument in 1862, include an octagonal staircase, thick walls and a 20-metre-wide tower.

The origin of the site dates back to the 11th century, when Robert le Pieux, son of Hugues Capet, entrusted Guillaume de Hainaut with the construction of a fortress on this motte, making him the first lord of Montfort. The county was later attached to the Duchy of Brittany in 1292 by the marriage of Yolande de Montfort and Arthur II of Brittany. The present tower, made of bricks and stones, was built under the impulse of Anne de Bretagne, Countess of Montfort, between the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

The tower, once crowned with mâchicoulis, flanked a 15th century house. The dungeon, of which it was the main access, had walls two to three metres thick and a height of about 18 metres. The site was also used as a setting for George Seaton's film Le Petit Garçon perdu (1953), shot in part in Montfort-l'Amaury. Victor Hugo also dedicated to him a poem, Aux ruins de Montfort-L.

Today, the protected remains include elements of the cadastre such as plots and ruins, property of the commune. The exact location is indicated as being at 28 Rue Saint-Laurent, although the map accuracy is considered poor (level 5/10).

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