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Origin and history

The castle of Genillé is a former seigneurial house erected in the second half of the 15th century on the commune of Genillé, in Indre-et-Loire. Built most probably in 1483 by Adam Smoke, doctor and adviser to Kings Charles VII and Louis XI, it initially consists of a body of building flanked by cylindrical towers, a leak, and a library known as one of the richest in Europe. This first building reflects the influence of a scientist close to the royal power, who chooses this site for his retirement.

In 1515 Adam Smoke's son, also named Adam, became the first official lord of Genillé after the fief had been erected as a chestnut. The Smoked family retained the estate until 1602, when it passed by marriage to Jean de Menou, lord of Bossay, from an aristocratic lineage. Menou gradually transform the home into a marina, while living rarely. In the 16th century, the building was enlarged, and a wing in return was added north of the eastern facade to the next century.

The castle underwent several changes of owners from the 19th century: sold in 1840 by the Baron de Menou to Alphonse Bodin, a local doctor, he was then transferred in 1901 to Anthyme Venier, then bequeathed by inheritance to the Chaumier family in 1961. Partly inscribed in the historical monuments in 1951 for its facades and roofs, the castle preserves defensive elements such as scallops, a murated poterne and traces of filled moat. The escape, symbol of the seigneurial right, with its 500 initial bolts, still bears witness to the past importance of the seigneurie.

The architecture of the castle combines medieval and Renaissance features: cylindrical towers at the corners, turret of octagonal stairway, silled windows, and darken roof. The disappearance of a southern wing after 1840 and the filling of the moat partially altered its original appearance. Today, the site remains a remarkable example of the tourism heritage, linked to the history of local elites, between medicine, nobility and seigneurial power.

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