Let me tell you more about a wonderful castle in my lovely Bretagne just at the entrance of it. In our road warrior trips we have been to Vitré and have several posts on it in my blog. This time will just love to tell you more about the Château de Vitré!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
Again, written already a post on the castle but found me new older pictures in my vault and feel deserves to be in my blog. In our quest to take advantage of living here and with so much history and architecture around we came back to Vitré , and it was grand again, I have plenty on it but will try to give some more information on the Vitré castle. At the beginning of the year 1000, a feudal motte stood on the site of the current Sainte-Croix Church (see post). In the years 1060-1070, Robert I built a first stone castle on the current rocky promontory. The Romanesque portal of this first fortress is still visible in the courtyard of the castle. During the first half of the 13C, André III, Baron de Vitré, began building around the first castle the current fortress on a triangular plan, flanked by circular towers at each corner and semi-circular towers on the curtain walls Two centuries more later or late 14C early 15C, the construction of the gatehouse and the elevation of the Saint-Laurent tower and the Madeleine tower gave the fortress the silhouette it still has today , Inside see the monumental tomb of Gui X (preserved in the museum of the castle) and the bell tower of the collegiate church of the Madeleine of the castle ,built around 1380.
The Vitre castle was abandoned in the 17C and 18C, confiscated as national property during the French revolution, it was partly transformed into a prison in the 19C. Several restoration campaigns were needed before experiencing a new lease of life with the opening in 1877 of the Castle Museum. The latter now offers a route through the Tour Saint-Laurent, the Tour de l’Argenterie and the Tour de l’Oratoire with eight rooms that will transport you from the 15C to the 19C between statues, furniture, clothing and portraits. At the beginning of the 20C, the City/town hall of Vitré took place in a neo-Gothic style building restoring the old stately home of the 15C inside castle grounds !
For the services rendered to the crown of France during the Hundred Years War by the lords of Vitré-Laval, King Charles VII of France erected Laval into a county in 1429. His successor, Louis XI gave the collar of Saint-Michel, an honorary distinction, to the brothers, Gui XIV, André de Laval-Lohéac and Louis de Laval-Châtillon. In the 17C, during the reign of Louis XIV, the Vitré castle hosted eight meetings of the Estates General of Brittany. In 1794, during the French revolutionary period, the Prince of Talmont, son of the last Baron de Vitré, was guillotined. The Vitre castle, seized, is then transformed into barracks, the tower of the Madeleine into a fodder store. In 1820, the castle threatens to fall into ruin and the La Trémoille family sold it to the department and the City of Vitré, Finally, the prison will not be replaced by the current City/town hall until 1902.
The official Castle of Vitré: https://chateau.vitre.bzh/en/home/
The Vitré tourist office on the castle:https://www.bretagne-vitre.com/en/essential-window/the-glass-castle/
The city of Vitré on its heritage: https://www.mairie-vitre.com/-Town-of-Art-and-History-label-.html
There you go folks, an enchanting castle right in city center Vitré on the frontiers of my lovely Bretagne, and worth the detour. It was a very nice visit by us there, and sure worth a return. Hope you enjoy the post on the Château de Vitré as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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