Angers - Castle

(Local Name: Château d'Angers) On a 32 m/105ft high crag above the left bank of the Maine is the Angers castle, surrounded by stout defensive walls with 17 round towers which now stand 40-60 m/130-200ft high. The castle was originally built by Foulques Nerra in 1230-1240 and renovated by Louis IX of France (St Louis) later in the 13th century. During the 16th century wars of religion Henry III ordered the towers to be pulled down, but in the end only the tops were destroyed. Of the castle's two gates only the one on the north side, the Porte de Ville, can be used. The south gate, the Porte des Champs, is half way up the outer wall between two towers. From the walls (along considerable stretches of which it is possible to walk), from two truncated towers and from the wall-walk there are fine all-round views.

In the castle courtyard are the Gothic chapel, the Logis Royal and the Logis du Gouverneur. In both the Royal and the Governor's Lodgings are tapestries of the 14th to 18th centuries.

Built in the 13th C., this fortress now houses an important collection of tapestries, with the centerpiece being the Apocalypse Tapestry.