Châteaudun

Château de Châteaudun

Château of Châteaudun

 

Châteaudun is the first castle on the road from Paris (or Chartres) to the other chateaux of the Loire Valley.
Jean Dunois, bastard son of the duke of Orléans and companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc during the most dramatic part of the Hundred Years War, gave substance to this castle.

 

Donjon de Châteaudun

The dungeon

Built at the limit of the town on a rocky spur overlooking the Loir river , the castle houses a circular keep which visit wiil show you its good state of preservation.
It also houses one of the eleven "Saintes Chapelles" of France (like the Sainte Chapelle in Paris) and two wings from the 15th and 16th century where the severe style of the Middle Ages was progressively replaced by the more pleasant Renaissance.
Every year during the tourist season the castle is the place where medieval festivities and banquets are given.