Editing Château de Loches

{{Short description|Castle in the Loire Valley in France}}
{{Infobox Military Structure
|name = Château de Loches
|location = [[Loches]], [[Indre-et-Loire]], France
|coordinates = {{coord|47.124722|0.996667|type:landmark|display=inline}}
|image = [[File:Loches dungeon, aerial view from West.jpg|300px]]
|caption = Aerial view of the château
|map_type = France
|map_size = 200
|map_alt = 
|map_caption = Shown within France
|type = [[Castle]]
|materials = Stone
|condition = Ruins
|ownership = [[Communes of France|Commune]] of Loches
|open_to_public = Yes
}}

The '''Château de Loches''' (also called '''Le Logis Royal de Loches''') is a [[castle]] located in the ''[[département in France|département]]'' of [[Indre-et-Loire]] in the [[Loire Valley]] in France; it was constructed in the 9th&nbsp;century. Built some {{convert|500|m}} away from the river [[Indre (river)|Indre]], the huge castle, famous mostly for its massive square [[keep]], dominates the town of [[Loches]]. The castle was captured from the [[Angevin_kings_of_England|English]] by King [[Philip&nbsp;II of France]] in 1204. 

==History==
[[File:GrundrissSchlossLochesGesamt.png|thumb|upright|left|Floor plan of the Château]]
The castle was occupied by [[Henry II of England]]  and his son, [[Richard I of England|Richard the Lionheart]] during the 12th century, it withstood the assaults by the French King [[Philip II of France|Philip II]] in their wars for control of [[Kingdom of France|France]] until it was finally captured by Philip in 1204.<ref name=Lepage252>Lepage (2002), p.&nbsp;252</ref> Construction work immediately upgraded Loches into a huge military fortress.

The castle would become a favourite residence of [[Charles VII of France]], who gave it to his mistress, [[Agnès Sorel]], as her residence. Agnès Sorel was the first woman to be officially recognized as a « Favorite ». It would be converted for use as a State [[prison]] by his son, King [[Louis XI]] who had lived there as a child but preferred the [[Château d'Amboise]].

In December 1699 [[Henriette-Julie de Murat]] was involved in a scandal when a report was circulated accusing her of "shocking practices and beliefs" including lesbianism.<ref name="Gethner2011">{{cite book|author=Perry Gethner|title=A Trip to the Country: by Henriette-Julie de Castelnau, Comtesse de Murat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XS0OUMSLFHEC|date=15 September 2011|publisher=Wayne State University Press|isbn=0-8143-3681-7}}</ref> She was estranged from her husband and disinherited by her mother, forced to take a hiatus from publishing, and eventually exiled to the Château de Loches  in 1702; in 1701 her debauchery was considered confirmed by the fact that she was pregnant.<ref name="Gethner2011"/> She tried to escape from the Château de Loches in 1706 wearing men's clothing.<ref name="Gethner2011"/> She was then transferred to two other prisons before being brought back to the Château de Loches in 1707.<ref name="Gethner2011"/> In 1709 she obtained partial liberty from the Countess d'Argenton on the condition that she return to her aunt's home.<ref name="Gethner2011"/>

During the [[American Revolution]], France financed and fought with the [[United States|Americans]] against [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and King [[Louis XVI]] used the castle of Loches as a prison for captured British prisoners.

At the time of the [[French Revolution]], the château was ransacked and severely damaged. Some major restoration began in 1806 but today there are parts visible as ruins only.  Owned by the [[Communes of France|Commune]] of Loches, the castle and the adjacent ancient Church of Saint-Ours are open to the public.

The Château de Loches has been recognised as a ''[[monument historique]]'' since 1861 and is listed by the [[French Ministry of Culture]].<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00097821|Château de Loches}}</ref>

==Layout==
The 11th-century keep&nbsp;– built by [[Fulk III, Count of Anjou]]&nbsp;– measures {{convert|23.3|by|15.4|m}} with walls {{convert|2.8|m|abbr=on}} thick. Its four storeys stand {{convert|37|m|abbr=on}} high.<ref>Lepage (2002), p.&nbsp;52</ref> Each floor was a single room. As was typical of most keeps, the ground floor was mostly likely used for storage.<ref>Stokstad (2005), p.&nbsp;6</ref><ref>Friar (2003), p.&nbsp;164</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of castles in France]]
*[[Tuffeau]][[File: Loches Dungeon, Park View from East.jpg|thumb|400x400px|View of Loches Donjon (keep) from the East, inside the City wall]]

==References==
;Notes
{{reflist}}

;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation |last=Friar |first=Stephen |year=2003 |title=The Sutton Companion to Castles |publisher=Sutton Publishing |isbn=978-0-7509-3994-2}}
*{{citation |last=Lepage |first=Jean-Denis |title=Castles and fortified cities of medieval Europe: an illustrated history |year=2002 |publisher=Mcfarland |isbn=978-0-7864-1092-7}}
*{{citation |last=Stokstad |first=Marilyn |authorlink=Marilyn Stokstad |title=Medieval Castles |year=2005 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-32525-0}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Base Mérimée|PA00097821|Château de Loches}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090316072657/http://montjoye.net/chateau_de_loches French website about castle Loches with a lot of pictures and a full history ]
* [https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/cit%C3%A9-royale-de-loches The Royal City of Loches in Google Cultural Institute]
{{Loire}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loches, Chateau De}}
[[Category:Castles in Centre-Val de Loire]]
[[Category:Monuments historiques of Indre-et-Loire]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in Centre-Val de Loire]]
[[Category:Museums in Indre-et-Loire]]
[[Category:Hunting lodges in France]]
[[Category:Royal residences in France]]