Château de Saumur

René I of Anjou’s "Château of Love " on its "emerald rock", the Château de Saumur played host to kings and prisoners and is one of the greatest and last untouched remnants of princely architecture from the Valois dynasty in the Middle Ages.
The château appeared in all its glory in the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry illumination and has had a turbulent past, narrowly avoiding demolition. The 11th century Romanesque tower was surrounded by four round towers before it was levelled off. Louis I of Anjou decided to transform the château into a palace. In the 15 century, his son, Louis II, made it look how you see it now.

King René’s spirit may linger but, for a century after his death, it was left empty until the protestant Duplessis-Mornay moved in in 1589. Dark times came after the governor was forced into exile following Henri IV’s assassination. The château was pillaged by Louis XIII’s soldiers and saved from demolition by Napoleon I who turned it into a state prison.

Saumur Council bought it in 1906 to restore it to house the municipal museum, approved by Musée de France, displaying notably Count Charles Lair’s collection.

The first floor of the castle houses an exceptional collection of decorative arts including furniture, tapestries and ceramics from the 14th to the 18th century. As an international horse riding capital, Saumur collects harness equipment from Antiquity to the early 20th century. A selection from the Horse collection (saddles, bits, stirrups) is on display in the former abbey.