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Origin and history

The castle of the Dukes of Alençon, located on the left bank of the Briante in Alençon (Orne), was originally built in the 9th century under Richard I of Normandy, then entrusted to the family of Bellême. This first building, which has now disappeared, served as a bastion against the angeline attacks on the southern border of the duchy. In the 11th century, the castle was the scene of conflicts between the Dukes of Normandy and the seigneurs of Bellême, notably during the sieges led by Robert I (1010-1035) and Guillaume le Bâtard (future William the Conqueror) in 1050 to take over the fortress in the hands of Geoffroy Martel, Count of Anjou. The chronicles then describe a castle surrounded by deep ditches, palisades and wooden towers, burned during the assault.

In 1113 Henry I Beauclerc, king of England and Duke of Normandy, raised a square Romanesque dungeon, similar to those of Arches or Falaise, marking a phase of stone reconstruction. The castle and the county of Alençon were attached to the royal estate in 1220, before being assigned to Peter I of Alençon, son of Saint Louis, in 1269. The site then became the center of a duchy until John I (1404-1415) built a second castle around the existing dungeon. This new ensemble, completed around 1400, will house a lavish court under Charles IV of Alençon and his widow Marguerite de Valois-Angoulême, sister of François I, who welcomed poets like Clement Marot.

The fortress was partially destroyed in 1592 by order of Henry IV, leaving only the dungeon and the entrance pavilion. In the 18th century, the dungeon was partially dismantled (1782) after serving briefly as a prison. The remaining remains — the crowned tower (14th century), the adjoining house body and the entrance castle flanked by two twin towers — were classified as historical monuments in 1862. Converted into a stopping house from 1804 to 2010, the site was bought by the city of Alençon in 2018 to be converted into a public space. Today, there are only symbolic elements of the old size of the castle, such as the castle with twin towers or the crowned tower, which bear witness to its military and political role.

The original enclosure, once encircled by semi-cylindrical towers (the Knight's Tower, Giroie Tower) and ditches fed by the Briante, has completely disappeared, as has the barbacan and the vast park extending up to the forest of the Scoops. The stones of the dungeon, partially used to rebuild the church of Notre-Dame in 1744, illustrate the frequent reuse of medieval materials. The castle, symbol of the tensions between Ducal power and seigneurial power, also embodies the architectural and political transformations of Normandy, from feudal conflicts to royal centralization.

Among the notable episodes, the siege of 1087 led by Robert de Bellême against the local garrison, or the occupation by Henri I Beauclerc in 1113, underline its strategic importance. The court of Alençon in the 15th century, with figures such as John II (companion of Joan of Arc) or Charles IV, reflects its cultural apogee. Partial destruction under Henry IV, then successive dismantlings, seal its military decline in favour of civilian functions (prison, then urban space).

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