Lovers of ancient architecture, fans of France and history buffs should not miss the opportunity to visit the Vincennes castle - a palace that is unlike any other in Paris, but keeps a lot of royal secrets. What is the difference between this architectural structure and the rest, many will ask. Compared to other French castles, so elegant and delicate in their manifestation, Vincennes, on the contrary, looks very gloomy, even menacing. Not surprisingly, he has a truly harsh story.
Location of the Vincennes castle
The fortress is located in the suburbs of Paris, the village of Vincennes, which, in turn, is located 300 meters west of the Chateau de Vincennes metro station and 8 km southeast of the island of Cité. It is noteworthy that, unlike 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, a forest grew on this place, so that the fortress was surrounded by trees on all sides. Until today, it has practically not been preserved.
Castle description
It is a massive fortress in the shape of an irregular rectangle, the dungeon of which was erected in the form of a square with three round towers at the corners of the walls of 6 m in diameter. All are equipped with an indoor viewing gallery. The Vincennes castle is impregnable. It is a fortress with huge walls 3 meters thick and almost 12 meters high, fully corresponding to the donjon. And these dimensions are indicated without taking into account the depth of the ditch. Only 6 floors, but only 5 are considered, since the latter is very small in relation to the rest. But from there a beautiful view of the surrounding area opens.
Initially, the towers of the fortress walls were much higher, but later they were leveled. And it is in this form that the building has survived to the present. A peculiar spine of the donjon is a column that holds the arches of all five floors. Relatively recently, it underwent reconstruction with the aim of strengthening, without which the structure threatened to collapse. It is assumed that the interior walls of the fortress were once painted.
Vincennes castle: history of occurrence
The “life” of the fortress begins with the construction of not the building that can be seen today, but of a small hunting house erected in the middle of the XII century on the orders of Louis VII (Young). It is not surprising that the king chose this place, because in the Middle Ages there was a beautiful, rich in game forest. Then the castle appeared, which happened already in the XIII century, when Philip Augustus and Saint Louis ruled . If you plunge into history, you can find that it was from this fortress that the king of France went on his last campaign - the Cross, from where he never returned.
Closer to the XIV century, the Vincennes castle was used as a venue for special occasions. For example, Philip III married here, and 10 years after him, in 1284, and Philip IV. But not only solemn events were held here. In 1316, Louis X dies in the castle, after 6 years - Philip V, and even after the same amount of time - Charles IV.
But the fortress is immortal. And already in 1337, King Philip IV ordered the need to strengthen it, with the aim of building a dungeon, subsequently protected by its walls. Charles V (Wise), who was born in the castle, settles there, making the building his own residence, and therefore a powerful wall appears that is more than a kilometer long with six towers and three gates. But such a project could not be implemented quickly, but because the construction lasted 2 generations. Then begins the construction of his own Holy Chapel, and the next ruler, Louis XI, moves from the donjon to the building located in the fortress wall.
Louis XIV went even further - ordered the architect to design 2 wings connected by the main courtyard. 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 has lost its calling.
The fate of the castle throughout its existence to the present day
Even when Louis XIV lived in the fortress, the donjon became a state prison, but not simple, but for prisoners of noble birth. Some of them were allowed to transport servants and wives with them to the castle, so the prisoners could be called more than comfortable. For example, the now well-known philosopher and poet Voltaire and the brawler Marquis de Sade served their term there.
When the Sun King moved to Versailles, the dungeon continued to be a prison, even after a porcelain factory 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 castle was transformed into an arsenal. At that time, various military structures began to appear. By the way, they can be seen today, since the buildings were well preserved and were not destroyed.
In 1804, the ditch of the fortress observes bloody events - in it, on the orders of Napoleon, the only son of Prince Conde from the Bourbon dynasty - the Duke of Angien, was shot. And in 1917, at the same place, the notorious Mata Hari said goodbye to her life. Today, the Vincennes castle, photos of which are shown in the article, is a museum open to visitors.
The territory of the Vincennes castle
From the forest, once formerly dense, there was only a small piece. In addition to the donjon, the Holy Chapel and military buildings, there are now research and archive centers in the territory:
- Historical service of the Ministry of Defense.
- National Defense History Research Center.
- Interministerial commission, head of restoration work.
Vincennes castle: how to get there?
The easiest way is the subway. The regional express metro is Vincennes station, or the first line of the Paris metro is 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, more than one generation of French rulers from the Middle Ages was born, grew, married and died here. The Vincennes castle, which admirers leave only admired, is truly worthy of a visit no less than the Louvre or the Stade de France.