The Castle of Angers, located 28 km from the Château des Briottières, is also called the Castle of the Dukes of Anjou, is located in the department of Maine et Loire in France. In the heart of the city of Angers, a city of art and history. The Castle of Angers is a large fortress built between the 13th century and the 16th century. It overlooks the Maine River with its 17 Towers.
The Castle of Angers was built, in the Middle Ages, under the order of Blanche of Castille mother of Louis XI from 1232. In 1214, the year Saint Louis was born, Anjou was definitively attached to the royal Capetian domain. After decades of struggle, the Plantagenets must give way. However, it was not until 130, that the king decided to transform Angers into one of his strategic strongholds. He financed the construction of the castle of Angers, but also the city wall, while the cathedral was completed and new monastic establishments structured urban planning.
Inside the fortress is the pleasant residence of the Dukes of Anjou, composed of buildings from the Gothic period (the castle, the royal house, the chapel), gardens and even a few vines. The chapel and the royal house were built in 1450 by King René. King René died in 1480, Louis XI attached Anjou to the royal domain.
In the 16th century the castle was transformed into a prison, and in 1860 Louis XIV incarcerated the superintendent of finances Nicolas Fouquet there. The fortress remained a prison until 1947.
The Castle of Angers houses the famous collection of Apocalypse Tapestries known the world over. 104 meters, the largest medieval tapestry known today. Woven for Duke Louis 1st of Anjou at the end of the 14th century, it is now presented in a gallery specially adapted for its conservation.
The Apocalypse hanging illustrates the text that Saint John wrote in the 1st century, which is the last book of the Bible. It is also a reflection of its context of creation, this 14th century marked by the misfortunes of the time (famine, plague, Hundred Years War...)
Angers Castle schedule
Opening: Every day
May 2 to September 4, 9:30am to 6:30pm
September 5 to April 30, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Last admission 45 minutes before closing
duration of the visit: 1 hour and a half
@chateaudesbriottieres
