Meung-sur-Loire Castle (France)

The Château de Meung-sur-Loire is a Loire castle located in the village of Meung-sur-Loire in the Loiret department of the Centre-Val de Loire region of France, about 20 kilometres west of Orléans.

The Château de Meung-sur-Loire is located in the centre of the town, on a small hill overlooking the Loire. Originally a medieval castle stood here, built in 1101 by Louis VI, the Fat, and which remained in the possession of the Meung family for several generations. The last of the line was Jean de Meung, who became known for continuing and completing the Roman de la Rose (Roman of the Rose) begun by Guillaume de Lorris.

From the 12th to the 18th century, the castle was the residence of the bishops of Orléans. During the Hundred Years' War, the English occupied it, but were expelled from this position by Joan of Arc on 14 June 1429, a few weeks after the liberation of Orléans. In 1461, François Villon was imprisoned in the castle by the bishop for several months. He would have almost been hanged if the newly crowned King Louis XI had not saved him. pardoned during a visit.

In the 17th century, the castle was abandoned and fell into ruin. Louis XIV finally offered Bishop Louis-Gaston Fleuriau d'Armenonville a large sum of money to maintain the property. Subsequent reconstruction and expansion work left the old towers and the original main building intact.

The Spanish Enlightenment thinker, politician and writer Pablo de Olavide retired here during the Reign of Terror, la Terreur, during the French Revolution, from 1791 until his arrest in 1794.

In 1791, Baron Jean-Jacques Lecoulteux, later founder of the Banque de France and mayor of Meung, purchased the castle at auction and its interior was radically modified in the 19th century. Today the 21 differently furnished rooms feature furniture from different stylistic periods.