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Origin and history

The tower of Auneau is a cylindrical dungeon built in the 11th century by Hugues de Gallardon, vassal of the Counts of Chartres. This first building, covered with a dome and a lantern in the sixteenth century, dominated the city and once protected the Chartres road. It is part of a larger castral ensemble, including a house body built in the 14th, 16th and 18th centuries.

In the Carolingian era (about 750-900), a first castle called The Old Court was erected to defend the inhabitants and the way to Chartres. In the 14th century, Marguerite d'Auneau, heiress of Hugues de Gallardon, wife Bureau de La Rivière, chamberlain de Charles V. The latter had a new castle built, whose remains remain today. The site then passed into the hands of noble families like the La Roche Guyon or the Bertin de Silly.

In 1587, the castle was the scene of the Battle of Auneau, a landmark episode of the Wars of Religion, while it belonged to Marshal Henri de Joyeuse. The dungeon, the only element of the 11th century still standing, was inscribed in historical monuments in 1927. Private property, it does not visit but remains an architectural testimony of medieval and Renaissance transformations.

Beyond its defensive role, the site also served as a cinematic setting: the dungeon appeared in Les Petites Filles modèles (1970) and Le Seuil du vacance (1971). Today, he embodies the feudal and seigneurial heritage of the Beauce, between military protection and aristocratic residence.

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