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Origin and history

Vendôme Castle, now in ruins, is an ancient castle whose remains stand on the town of Vendôme, in the department of Loir-et-Cher. Built on a hill overlooking the Loir, it controlled the road between Chartres and Tours. Its first stone fortifications date back to the 11th century, although records of a fortified site date back to the Treaty of Andelot in 587. The medieval enclosure, 170 meters long, is reinforced in the 12th and 14th centuries, with towers and a courtine still partially visible.

In the 11th century, Agnes de Bourgogne, wife of Geoffroy II of Anjou, would have founded the collegiate church of Saint Georges and the church of Saint Lubin in the enclosure of the castle. The Counts of Vendôme, like John I (allied with Henri Plantagenet), played a major political role: in 1170, the castle hosted an interview between Louis VII and Henry II of England, leading to a truce. In the 14th century, the Vendômois passed to the Bourbon-Vendôme, which turned the castle into a seigneurial residence, adding houses and pavillon towers in the 15th and 16th centuries.

The castle was besieged in 1589 by Henry IV, then king of Navarre and Duke of Vendôme, during his campaign to regain his kingdom. Despite a small garrison, the fortress resisted briefly before being taken by the royal troops. The governor leaguer, Maillé de Bénéhart, was executed after surrender. In the 17th century, César de Vendôme modernized access with a monumental ramp and a new door, but the castle was gradually abandoned after its attachment to the Crown in 1712.

Sold as a national property in 1791, the castle was dismantled stone by stone by its buyers, who sold the materials. Only the ruins were saved in the 19th century, thanks in particular to the Count of Beaumont, who donated them to the city. Ranked a historic monument since 1840, the site benefits from restorations in the 20th and 21st centuries, despite collapses like that of 2001. The collegiate Saint-Georges, the necropolis of Bourbon-Vendôme, and the 15th century undergrounds recall its prestigious past.

Today, the remains include the Poitiers Tower (XII-14th centuries), courtesies, captaincy (location of the primitive dungeon), and arched ditches. The rue Ferme, an old courtyard, preserves canon houses. The site, open to the public, offers a panorama of Vendôme and the Loir, while illustrating the architectural and political transformations of a medieval fortress into a ducal residence, then in romantic ruin.

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