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Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Vincennes, located in the eastern suburb of Paris, is a royal fortress whose construction spanned from the 14th to the 17th century. Originally a simple hunting mansion built by Louis VII in the 12th century in the forest of Vincennes, the site became a royal residence under Philippe Auguste (1180), then a majestic fortress under Philippe VI of Valois and Charles V. The latter, born in the enclosure in 1338, made it the seat of the government and the royal administration, adding a 52-metre dungeon (completed around 1365) and a monumental enclosure (1372–138). Unlike classical castles, Vincennes is built in the plain, on a limestone plateau, with moat fed by the Montreuil ru.

In the Middle Ages, the castle houses the royal court and thousands of people, including domestic servants, military and administrators. Saint Louis gave justice under an oak, and two kings died there (Louis X in 1316, Charles IV in 1328). The Sainte-Chapelle, built in 1379 to house a fragment of the crown of thorns, was inaugurated in 1552 under Henry II. The site then evolved into a state prison (from the 17th century), welcoming illustrious prisoners such as Voltaire, the Marquis de Sade or Mirabeau. The dungeon, a symbol of power, was saved by the revolution (1791) thanks to the intervention of Lafayette.

Transformed into an arsenal in 1796, the castle became a key military site, home to the Defence Historical Service. Napoleon had the Duke of Enghien shot there (1804), and General Daumesnil heroically defended him in 1814–15 against the coalized troops. In the 19th century, Viollet-le-Duc restored the chapel and the dungeon, while Napoleon III left the wood of Vincennes in Paris. Damaged during the Second World War (1944), the castle has since 1988 been the subject of an extensive renovation programme. Today, it is classified as a historical monument, combining military functions (Ministry of Defense) and heritage functions (visits to the dungeon and the Sainte-Chapelle).

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