Vincennes Castle: history and photos

Fans of ancient architecture, fans of France and connoisseurs of history should not miss the opportunity to visit the Vincennes Castle - a palace that does not resemble any other in Paris, but stores a lot of royal secrets. What distinguishes this architectural structure from the rest, many will ask. In comparison with other French castles, so elegant and gentle in their manifestation, Vincennes, on the contrary, looks very gloomy, even menacing. It is not surprising, because he has a truly harsh history.

Location of the Castle of Vincennes

A fortress is located in the suburbs of Paris, the village of Vincennes, which in turn is 300 meters to the west of the Chateau de Vincennes metro station and 8 kilometers southeast of the Cité island. It is noteworthy that, unlike the others, the Vincennes castle was built on a flat territory. And the moat, which served as a barrier to the entry of enemy forces, was filled with a stream, because there were no rivers nearby. During the Middle Ages, forests grew on this place, so that the fortress was surrounded by trees from all sides. Up to now, it has hardly survived.

Description of the castle

It is a massive fortress in the form of an irregular rectangle, the dungeon of which is erected in the form of a square with three round towers on the corners of fortress walls of 6 m in diameter. All of them are equipped with a covered viewing gallery. The Vincennes Castle is impregnable. It is a fortress with huge walls 3 meters thick and almost 12 meters high, completely corresponding to the Donjon. And these dimensions are indicated without taking into account the depth of the ditch. Only 6 floors, but it is considered only 5, since the latter is very small in relation to the rest. But then there is a beautiful view of the surrounding area.

Initially, the towers of the fortress walls were much higher, but later they were razed. And it was in this form that the structure survived to the present day. The peculiar backbone of the dungeon is the column, which holds the vaults of all five floors. Relatively recently, she survived the reconstruction in order to strengthen, without which the design threatened to collapse. It is assumed that on the inner walls of the fortress there was once a painting.

Vincennes Castle: history of origin

The "life" of the fortress begins with the construction of the wrong building that can be seen today, and a small hunting house, erected in the middle of the 12th century by the order of Louis VII (the Young). Not surprisingly, the king chose this place, because in the Middle Ages there was a beautiful, game-rich forest. Then came the castle, which happened already in the XIII century, when Philip Augustus and Louis the Holy ruled . If you immerse yourself in history, you can find out that it was from this fortress that the king of France set off on his last trip - the Cross, whence he never returned.

Closer to the XIV century, the Vincennes Castle was used as a venue for solemn events. For example, here Philip III married, and 10 years after him, in 1284, and Philip IV. But not only solemn events were held here. In 1316, Louis X died in the castle, six years later - Philip V, and even after the same time - Charles IV.

But the fortress is immortal. And already in 1337 King Philip IV gives an order on the need to strengthen it, for the purpose of which the donjon is built, later protected by its walls. Born in the castle of Charles V (Wise) settles there, making the construction his own residence, in connection with which a powerful wall with a length of more than a kilometer with six towers and three gates. But such a project could not be implemented quickly, and therefore the construction lasted 2 generations. Next, the construction of his own Holy Capella begins, and the next ruler, Louis XI, moves from the dungeon to the building located in the fortress wall.

Louis XIV went even further - ordered the architect to design 2 wings connected by the front yard. Both were decorated in the style of classicism, but one belonged to the queen, and the other to the king. Then the Vincennes Castle (Paris) was the third most important residence, but already in 1670 the Sun King moved to Versailles. The fortress in Vincennes lost its vocation.

The fate of the castle throughout its existence to the present day

Even when Louis XIV lived in the fortress, the dungeon became a state prison, but not simple, but for prisoners of noble origin. Some of them were allowed to transport servants and wives to the castle with them, so the inmates' living could be called more than comfortable. For example, the well-known philosopher and poet Voltaire and the brawler Marquis de Sade were serving their term there.

When the Sun King moved to Versailles, the donjon continued to be a prison, even after the factory for the production of porcelain had settled there in the 18th century. The hunting lodge, from which the history of this eventful place began, ceases to exist only in 1796, after the reincarnation of the castle into an arsenal. At that time, various military installations began to appear. By the way, they can be seen today, since the buildings are well preserved and not destroyed.

In 1804, the moat of the fortress is watched by bloody events - in it, on the orders of Napoleon, the only son of Prince Conde of the Bourbon dynasty, the Duke of Enghien, was shot. And in 1917 the well-known Mata Hari said goodbye to her own place in the same place. Today, the Vincennes Castle, the photo of which is shown in the article, is a museum open to everyone.

The territory of the Vincennes castle

From the forest, once thick, only a small piece remained. In addition to the donjon, the Holy Capella and military buildings, there are now research and archival centers on the territory:

• Historical Service of the Ministry of Defense.
• Research Center for the History of National Defense.
• Interministerial Commission, the head of the restoration work.

Vincennes Castle: how to get there?

The easiest way is underground. The regional express metro station is the Vincennes station, or the first branch of the Paris metro is the Chateau de Vincennes station. The feudal fortress, the residence of the French kings and the forest house is an architectural creation, unremarkable from the outside, but of great historical value. After all, not one generation of rulers of France of the Middle Ages was born, grew, married and died. The Vincennes Castle, the reviews of which tourists leave only admired, are worthy of a visit as much as the Louvre or the Stade de France.