Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Montreuil-Bellay came into being in the 11th century, when Foulque Nerra, Count of Anjou, established a castrum on an oppidum to secure the Loudunois against the Dukes of Aquitaine and the Viscounts of Thouars. This site, located at the crossing of two major axes (Angers-Poitiers and Le Mans-Saumur), already housed a moutair near a Carolingian bridge on the Thouet. The fortress, built after castles such as Langeais or Montrichard, was also used to monitor the road to Saumur, strengthening the Angelvin control over the area.

In 1025 the seigneury passed to Berlay (Berlai) I, vassal of Foulque Nerra, whose family gave its name to the city: Montreuil-Bellay. In the 12th century, the castle underwent two seats led by the Counts of Anjou, including that of 1151, where Geoffroy Plantagenet used rolling towers and pierriers to defeat Giraud II Berlay, accused of brigandage. The master tower, symbol of power, is shaved after its surrender. The Berlays, despite their resistance, remained linked to the fate of the Plantagenets, then kings of France.

In the 13th century, Philippe Auguste, after attaching Anjou to the Crown in 1205, undertook important works between 1204 and 1212: eleven turns, deep ditches of 20 feet, and a creneled wall of 18 feet high. These accommodations, costing 2,500 pounds tournaments, turn the castle into a royal stronghold. The site is returned to Giraud IV Berlay, faithful to the crown, before going through marriage to the Viscounts of Melun at the beginning of the thirteenth century.

The Hundred Years' War revealed the weaknesses of the castle, which had been poorly maintained since Philippe Auguste. Guillaume IV de Melun (1382-1415) reinforces the defences: moat around the Boille (bass-cour), new tower near the bridge, and urban ramparts to protect the inhabitants from English rides. The lower courtyard, a lot of 150 dwellings in 1382, became a refuge for the population. The castral chapel, in ruins, was replaced by a collegiate Notre-Dame in the 15th century.

In the 15th century, William IV of Harcourt (1448-1484) and his wife Yolande of Laval modernized the castle by adding residential elements: the old Logis (1445-1458), a pleasant gallery, and the new Logis facing the Thouet, equipped with d'oratories and d'angle towers. The main tower is deconstructed, and a collegiate building is erected on the site of the old chapel. This work, combining comfort and defense, reflects the influence of the Angevin and Lorrain courts, with royal stays such as those of Charles VII or Louis XI.

After the Orléans-Longueville (XVIe-XVIIe centuries), the castle passed to the Cossé-Brissac, then to the La Tremeille. During the Revolution, he was seized and transformed into a prison for royalist women. Sold as a national property in 1796, it was restored in the 19th century by the Niveleau and Millin families of Grandmaison. Ranked a historic monument in 1979, it now belongs to the Thuy family, after centuries of architectural and political transformation.

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