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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Tower of Caesar is the dungeon of the castle of Châtillon-sur-Indre, built on a castral motte mentioned since the reign of Charles II the Chauve (IXth century). The current construction, dated from the 1180s by dendrochronology, is part of a triangular fortified ensemble. The shirt (multi-paned enclosure) precedes the large cylindrical tower, vaulted in dome, characteristic of the angeline dungeons of the late twelfth century. This defensive system, combining moth, bassyard and master tower, reflects the military innovations of the Plantagenet era.

The castle plays a strategic role in the 12th–13th centuries, at the border of Capetian and Angelian domains. Henri II Plantagenet met Philippe Auguste in 1188, before the site was transferred to the French crown in 1205. The tower, initially accessible by a drawbridge on the 3rd level, was modified in the 15th century (add a chimney, redevelopment of access). Its roof and top floor disappear before the 16th century, leaving room for a slabd pavement to evacuate the water.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1909, the tower underwent major changes: water reservoir (1930), post-bomb restorations (1954–1957), and archaeological excavations revealing its ditch and shirt. Claude Chastillon's drawings (circa 1600) and Delalande's plans (an III) document his evolution. Today isolated, it bears witness to the mutations of a royal castle into a seigneurial residence, then in communal good after its donation to the city in 1867.

The written sources (Liber de compositione castri Ambaziae) attest to his succession to the Counts of Anjou, the Capetians (Philippe Auguste, Louis IX), then to lords such as Pierre de La Brosse (Chambellan of Philip III) or Caesar de Bourbon (duce de Vendôme, acquirer in 1605). The archives also reveal its use as a prison in the 15th century and its division into plots in the 19th century, before its partial preservation.

Architectural analysis highlights its originality: vaulted cylindrical dungeon among the oldest in France, 23-paned shirt, and foundations on limestone spur. Medieval changes (stairs tower, fireplace) and modern (reservoir, adjacent school) illustrate its adaptation to military, residential, and then civic needs. The excavations of 1986 exhumed the door from below (15th century), confirming its integration into a wider defensive network.

The Tower of Caesar thus embodies nearly a thousand years of history, from Carolingians to contemporary restorations, including Franco-Angelian conflicts and its role as a communal symbol. Its classification and restoration campaigns (1980–2011) preserve this exceptional heritage, witness to medieval castral techniques and the political stakes of the Touraine.

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