Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Sully-sur-Loire, mentioned in 1102, controlled a bridge over the Loire today disappeared. He belonged to three families: the lords of Sully, the trembling, and the Bethunes. In 1218 Philippe Auguste had a tower built. Between 1396 and the beginning of the 15th century, Guy VI de La Tremeille and Marie de Sully began the construction of the present castle, under the direction of the architect Raymond du Temple. In 1524, a building was added to the south-east, and Georges I of La Tremeille, the great chamberlain of France, lived there.

In 1602, Maximilian of Bethune, future Duke of Sully, acquired the castle and transformed it between 1602 and 1607, adding a park and developing the interiors. The young Louis XIV took refuge there in 1652 during the Fronde, and Voltaire was exiled there in 1715. In the 18th century, a new building was built in the north. The castle suffered damage during a fire in 1918 and shelling in 1940 and 1944. It was restored after its acquisition by the Loiret General Council in 1962.

The castle consists of two parts: the dungeon, with its four circular towers and a remarkable medieval structure, and the "little castle", including a 15th century house renovated in the 19th and 20th centuries. The courtyard, now empty, once housed a 13th century dungeon and a collegiate. The park, surrounded by canals created by Maximilian of Bethune to protect the site from flooding, completes the whole.

Ranked a historic monument in 1928 and registered in 1944, the castle has been open to the public since 1933. It is part of UNESCO's world heritage in the Loire Valley perimeter and is labeled "Maison des Illustres". Each year, it hosts approximately 60,000 visitors and a classical music festival since 1973.

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