Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Brissac found its origins in the 11th century as an angeline fortress built by Foulques Nerra, Count of Anjou. After the defeat of the English, Philippe Auguste gave him to Sénéchal Guillaume des Roches. In the 15th century, Pierre de Brézé, the great servant of Charles VII, made a profound change to the structure, and then moved on to his son Jacques, whose wife Charlotte de Valois (the king's natural daughter) died tragically there in 1477, giving birth to the legend of the White Lady haunting the place.

In 1502, René de Cossé, governor of Maine and Anjou under Francis I, acquired the estate. His grandson Charles, a leaguer during the Wars of Religion, saw the castle besieged by Henry IV in 1594. Ralliment obliged him to rebuild it in 1606 with architect Jacques Corbineau, obtaining the title of Duke of Brissac in 1611. The site then became a diplomatic place: in 1620 Louis XIII and Marie de Médicis reconciled after three days of negotiations.

The Revolution transformed the castle into a cantonment for Republican troops, ruining it until it was restored in 1844 to the Cossé-Brissac. In the 19th century, Jeanne-Marie Say (widow of Roland de Cossé) built a theatre there in 1890, restored around 1983. During the Second World War, it housed evacuees of artistic treasures, including Versailles furniture and works by national museums, protected until 1946 despite a deadly German intrusion in 1944.

Architecturally, the castle combines medieval remains (the 15th century towers) and Baroque fascists of the 17th century, with a record height in France. Since the 19th century, the Dukes of Brissac have preserved it, while opening it to the public for cultural events such as the Festival d'Anjou or historical shoots (Secrets of History, The War of the Thrones).

External links