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Origin and history

Sansac Castle is a Renaissance building built in the early 16th century in Loches, Indre-et-Loire. His name comes from his sponsor, Louis Prévost de Sansac, whose surname is linked to a saintly estate. The date of 1529, engraved on a bust of Francis I above the front door, probably marks the completion of the central part. This bust, considered one of the king's most faithful portraits, was attributed to the workshop of Girolamo della Robbia, but the original was sold at auction in 1899 and its trace is now lost.

The castle, located in the east of the town centre of Loches, on the banks of Indre, has had several notable owners. In the 17th century, it belonged to Madeleine Luthier, widow of François de Vonnes, who bequeathed it to Bonne-Catherine Luthier. After the Revolution, he was acquired by Cyprien-Joseph-Louis de Bridieu and his wife Élisabeth Mallevaud de Marigny. Their son, François Henri Antoine de Bridieu, was born there. In 1899 Antoine Berthon, a Parisian engineer, became the owner of the castle before the castle passed to Mr. Jahan de Lestang in 1914.

Architecturally, the castle consists of a central house on one floor, surmounted by a top between two high gables, flanked by two pavilions without floor. Two low wings, added in the 19th century, extend the whole. The access stairway, adorned with four pairs of groined bays in full hanger, ends with a bell. A double frieze of circles, present on the facade, was reproduced on the 19th century pavilions. The castle has been listed as historical monuments since 12 May 1927.

Among the remarkable elements, the bust of Francis I, now replaced by a copy, attests to the historic importance of the site. The castle was also the home of Armand-Charles-Marie de Riencourt, war commissioner and knight of Saint-Louis, who died there in 1787. The communes, built apart, complement this emblematic ensemble of the Touran Renaissance.

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