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Origin and history

The castle of Marçay, located in the municipality of the same name in Indre-et-Loire, has its origins in the 13th century, although the fief then depended on Loudun rather than the archbishops of Tours. The present fortress was built in the 15th century, but suffered heavy destruction in 1597 during the Wars of Religion, where it was ravaged by the belligerents and local peasants seeking refuge. Only the two round towers of the main house were spared, and a rapid reconstruction took place around 1600.

In the 17th century, changes were made to the boreholes and roofs, while a neo-Gothic restoration campaign was carried out between 1890 and 1914. The facades and roofs were classified as historical monuments in 1963. The castle consists of a main house body flanked by two fortified towers, with wings back south and remains of moat still visible to the east. The communes, built from 1833, frame the terraces of the lower courtyard.

The primitive castle, dating from the 12th century, was rebuilt in the 15th century after major damage. The cylindrical towers, crowned with machicoulis and covered round paths, recall its defensive origin. A chapel and a spiral staircase, now destroyed, once completed the whole. The vestiges of the ditches and the traces of successive alterations testify to its architectural evolution throughout the centuries.

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