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Origin and history

The Château des archbishops de Tours, also known as the old castle of Candes, is a former episcopal residence located in Candes-Saint-Martin, in Indre-et-Loire. Built from 1485 on the order of Archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt, it replaces a medieval castle ruined during the Hundred Years War. This strategic site, on the banks of the Loire and Vienna, already housed a summer residence for the archbishops, linked to the death of Saint Martin in these places. The new castle, completed around 1520 under Martin de Beaune, combines defensive elements (octogonal tower, enclosures) and Renaissance decorations, as evidenced by carved coats of arms.

The castle served as a framework for major political events, including the 1446 trial of the Scottish guards of Charles VII, accused of conspiracy under the instigation of the dolphin Louis (later Louis XI). Several kings of France, such as Charles VII, Louis XI (then dolphin) and Charles VIII, stayed there. In the 17th century, Archbishop Michel Amelot de Gournay renounced it in 1682 in favour of a new, more modern castle. Disused, the old castle will house a gendarmerie from 1857 to 1924.

The current architecture combines 15th-century vestiges (sills, inverted frame structure) and later changes. The octagonal staircase tower, decorated with the arms of Lenoncourt and Beaune, dates from the initial construction (1485–1520). The entrance gate in the middle, framed with pilasters, and the communes (former gendarmerie cells) complete the whole. The site, partially protected since 1971, dominates the village from a terrace at 60 m above sea level, offering a view of the Loire-Vienne confluent.

The primitive castle, now extinct except an integrated wing, was a symbol of episcopal power in Touraine. Its position near the collegiate church and the ancient walls of Candes made it both defensive and representative. The child tower, independent of the house, and the covered gallery at the back (with its stone ramp and wooden pillars) illustrate the additions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The decline of the site in the 18th century contrasts with its past role as host of religious and royal elites.

Ranked a historic monument in 1971 for its facades, roofs, gate and gallery of communes, the castle of the Archbishops of Tours embodies the evolution of episcopal residences between the Middle Ages and the modern era. Its history also reflects the political tensions of medieval France, between royal power (still of the Valois) and ecclesiastical authority (residence of the archbishops). Today, there remains a major architectural testimony of the Touraine, linked to the memory of Saint Martin and the history of the Loire.

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