Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château du Grand-Pressigny, located in the department of Indre-et-Loire, is a composite building whose origins date back to the 12th century. Built on a rocky spur overlooking the Claise valley, it was originally erected as a stone under the impulse of Guillaume I of Pressigny and Sainte-Maure, the first lord attested in 1190. This castle, marked by conflicts between Plantagenets and Capetians, was gradually strengthened in the 13th and 15th centuries, with the addition of a enclosure flanked by towers and mâchicoulis.

In the 16th century, the site was transformed with the addition of a Renaissance-style house, including a gallery that now houses the departmental museum of Prehistory. This museum, inaugurated in 1955 and extended in 2009, showcases exceptional lithic collections, demonstrating the local importance of the size of the flint since Paleolithic. The medieval dungeon, partially collapsed in 1988, and the 17th century nymph, a rare example of hydraulic architecture, illustrate the architectural evolutions of the castle.

Ranked a historical monument in 1886 for its medieval remains, the castle experienced several protection campaigns (1907, 1927, 1938, 1998). His history was also marked by figures such as Honorat de Savoie-Villars, who had the Renaissance gallery built around 1560, or Alexandre Gilbert de Voisins, first president of the Paris Parliament, guillotined in 1793 after the confiscation of the estate. The 17th century park, now extinct, remains only through elements such as the Ferrus fountain.

The excavations and archaeological studies revealed a human occupation from the Gallo-Roman period, although the site is especially famous for its neolithic flint workshops. The family of Pressigny, then the Craon, Chabot, and Beauvau, successively shaped the castle before its acquisition by the department. The museum, centered on 100,000 years of regional history, stops at the Bronze Age, marking the end of the use of flint.

The architecture of the castle reflects its many phases: 12th century Romanesque dungeon, 13th century enclosure, Renaissance home, and 17th and 18th century layout. The mâchicoulis added in the 14th century, the 15th-century barbacan, and the 17th-century dormant bridge testify to its adaptation to defence and residential needs. Today, the site combines built heritage with prehistoric collections, offering a unique panorama of local history.

Future

The Renaissance gallery of the castle houses the departmental museum of prehistory of Grand-Pressigny since 1955. In September 2009, the completion of a contemporary building designed by German architect Bernd Hoge now completes the site where the visit takes place.

This museum gathers collections from the region's successive cultures, from the Middle Paleolithic period, about 100,000 years before the notrera. The prehistory period covered by this collection stops at the Bronze Age - between 1,400 and 1,800 years BC - which corresponds to the disappearance of flint in materials used by man.

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