The castle of Saint-Germain-Beaupré is located in the eponymous town, in the department of Creuse, 12 km north-east of La Souterraine.
It was built at the end of the 16th century, in place of an old fortress from the 12th century, for the local lord, Gabriel Foucauld.
Originally built on a pentagonal plan, with large circular towers at the corners, only the main building (which includes the ground floor and a first floor), three large towers and another of smaller size.
There are brick machicolations resting on corbels (projecting supports) in granite. A moat surrounds the platform of the castle.
The estate was restored in the 17th century, when the brick and stone portal marking the entrance to the castle was built. On the other hand, the interior staircase vaulted on ribbed crossings is still original.
Historians report that King Henri IV spent a night at the castle in 1605 and above all, that in 1652, after the Fronde, the Grande Mademoiselle, alias Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, first cousin of Louis XIV to whom she had customary to stand up, was exiled in these places in 1652. She then went to Burgundy only to regain the splendor of the court in 1657.
Various owners followed one another, an English-style park being built in 1854 and quality restoration initiated in 1860.
The castle is still private. Protected as historical monuments, it cannot be visited. This famous site can however mark out a pleasant hike in the Creuse countryside. Information on +33 5 55 51 93 23.
