Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Vincennes, located in the current 12th arrondissement of Paris, is a fortress built from the 14th to the 17th century. Originally a simple royal mansion built by Louis VII before 1178, it became a resort residence under Philippe Auguste (1180), then a fortress under Philip VI of Valois (c. 1337). Charles V made it his main residence and seat of government, adding a 52-metre dungeon (circa 1365) and a monumental enclosure (1372–138). The site, covered with a giboyous forest in the Middle Ages, also houses a Sainte-Chapelle built from 1379 to preserve a fragment of the thorn crown.

In the 17th century Louis XIV added the pavilions of the King and Queen (1658–1661) before leaving Vincennes for Versailles. The castle then became a state prison, welcoming illustrious prisoners such as Fouquet, Voltaire or the Marquis de Sade. It was transformed into an arsenal in 1796 and now houses the Defence Historical Service. The dungeon, restored after centuries of neglect, has been a historic monument since 1993. Archaeological excavations (1992–1996) revealed vestiges of the medieval manor and stone marks attesting to the complex organization of the site.

The castle, surrounded by the wood of Vincennes, also played a key military role: headquarters of the General Staff in 1940, location of executions during the Second World War (30 hostages in 1944), and target of destruction by the Nazis in August 1944. Charles de Gaulle planned to become his presidential residence in 1958, but the project was abandoned. Since 1988, a restoration programme has reopened the dungeon (2007) and the Sainte-Chapelle (2009), while preserving its dual status as a cultural monument and military site.

The architecture of Vincennes combines defensive elements (douves, towers of 42 meters, enclosure of 1 km) and residential (royal apartments, French gardens by Le Nôtre). The dungeon, designed to house the king in case of danger, consists of five levels, including reserves and halls. The Sainte-Chapelle, inspired by that of Paris, remains unfinished despite the interventions of Philibert Delorme under Henry II. The site, threatened with demolition in 1791, was saved by Lafayette and became a symbol of resistance during the foreign occupation (1814–15).

The governors of the castle, like General Daumesnil under Napoleon, marked his military history. Recent excavations exhumed 2,778 14th century terracotta tiles and analysed 713 stone marks, enlightening medieval construction techniques. The castle, classified as historical monuments, is now managed jointly by the Ministries of Culture and Defence, with shared governance including the city of Vincennes.

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