The Château de Baugé is located in the town of Baugé-en-Anjou, in the department of Maine-et-Loire, 19 km south-east of Durtal.
A fortress was first established on the site in 1007 by the Count of Anjou Foulques III, in order to dominate from a rocky outcrop the confluence of the Couasnon and the Altrée. With a military vocation, the construction makes it possible to prevent possible attacks from the Count of Blois.
In the 15th century, Yolande d'Aragon built a new, more residential castle. However, as the Hundred Years War raged on, she ended up having the castle set on fire rather than fall into the hands of English troops…
His son, King René I of Anjou, once had the peace returned a large mansion whose vocation is to become a hunting lodge. It was completed in 1465 and King René liked to stay there.
After his death, the province is integrated into the crown of France and the castle sees a succession of different large owners who, however, abandon the premises. Which are restored in the 19th century by the Department to accommodate the gendarmerie on the one hand and the town hall on the other. In the 20th century, other services were also housed there: courtroom, fire station. However, in 1905, a museum was created there dedicated to the history of the place and to King René.
Listed in the Inventory, the castle was restored after the Second World War. We appreciate its elegance, built in limestone, in a style of transition between flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance.
Within the framework of a modernized museography, the public now discovers the daily life of King René, reputed friends of the arts, the furniture, the personal spaces (bedroom) and those dedicated to receptions, but also his library.
Open daily from mid-April to early November.
Price: 4.50 to 9 euros.
Information on +33 2 41 84 00 74.
