Château de Chinon

Château de Chinon

A fortress stretched along a ridge

Above the town of Chinon in the Loire valley of France, a great fortress stretches along a high ridge overlooking the river Vienne. Rather than a single tall castle, Chinon is a long line of walls, towers and gateways running for hundreds of metres — almost a fortified town in itself. Its strategic position made it one of the most important strongholds in all of medieval France, and within its walls some of history's most famous people once walked.

The Plantagenet kings

In the 1100s Chinon became a favourite fortress of the Plantagenets, the mighty family who ruled England as well as vast lands in France. King Henry II of England — who held more of France than the French king himself — strengthened the castle and used it as a centre of his power on the continent. It was here at Chinon, in 1189, that the old and weary Henry II died, defeated and betrayed by his own sons.

His son Richard the Lionheart, the famous crusader king, also knew Chinon well, and the castle remained a key Plantagenet base until the king of France finally captured it in the early 1200s.

The imprisoned Templars

Chinon holds a darker memory too. When the Knights Templar — the famous warrior monks — were arrested and destroyed in the early 1300s, some of their leaders were imprisoned in one of Chinon's towers. On the walls of their cell, prisoners scratched mysterious carvings and graffiti that can still be seen today, a haunting message from men awaiting their fate.

Joan of Arc finds her king

Chinon's most famous moment came in 1429, during the Hundred Years' War between France and England. France was in desperate trouble, much of it occupied by English armies. Then a young farm girl named Joan of Arc, who believed God had sent her to save France, came to Chinon to meet the uncrowned French king, Charles VII.

According to the famous story, the king hid among his courtiers and dressed plainly to test her — but Joan picked him out at once, recognising her true king. Convinced of her mission, Charles allowed Joan to lead his armies, and she went on to win great victories and see him crowned. That meeting in the great hall of Chinon helped change the course of French history.

Ruin and rebirth

After its great age, Chinon slowly fell into decay, and parts of it crumbled into ruin over the centuries. But its importance was never forgotten, and in modern times the castle has been extensively restored, with its halls, towers and defences brought back to life and filled with displays telling its remarkable story.

Visiting today

Visitors can walk the long ramparts of Chinon, explore the towers — including the one that held the Templars — and stand in the hall linked to Joan of Arc. From the walls the view sweeps over the red rooftops of the town and the river Vienne winding through the Loire countryside. Few castles can claim such a cast of characters — kings, crusaders, condemned knights and a saint — making Chinon one of the most storied fortresses in France.