The tower dungeon of Anne de Bretagne of Montfort L’Amaury, part II !!

Posted in Europe, France, Versailles

This is a nice town and a wonderful off the beaten path visit of Montfort L’Amaury. I like to update this older post, and hope you enjoy it as I. When I was in Versailles, I came often to his town and initially walking to the tower dungeon of Anne de Bretagne, and later much else including lunches. Montfort L’Amaury is in the Yvelines dept 78 of the ïle de France region , and in my belle France. Therefore, here is my take on the tower dungeon of Anne de Bretagne of Montfort L’Amaury, part II !! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The history of Montfort l’Amaury begins in the 10C, when Robert the Pious, son of Hugh Capet, King of France, received the Yvelines region as an appanage. He then took up residence in the Château de Saint-Léger and decided to build two defensive points: one near Epernon, the other here, on this 185-meter-high hill overlooking the Roman road linking Beauvais to Chartres, also known as “Montfortis.” William of Hainault was tasked with fortifying it as a means of defending the kingdom against Norman invasions. His son, Amaury I , succeeded him and appointed Hugues Bardoul, his son-in-law, captain of the castle.

The castle then appeared as an irregular octagonal keep approximately 20 meters wide with walls 2.5 to 3 meters thick. The keep was defended on the west side by a wide moat over which the small bridge that currently exists is built. At times on the side of the English, at times on the side of the French during the Hundred Years’ War, the castle was dismantled around the middle of the 14C. Amaury had the town surrounded by its first stone ramparts and gave it his name. He also had the Saint-Laurent Chapel built. In the 14C, when Yolande de Dreux, Countess of Montfort married Arthur II of Brittany, the County became property of the Crown of Armorica (present day Brittany). Thus, the eldest son of the Duke of Brittany would henceforth bear the title of Count of Montfort. The town then became Breton for two centuries. It was Anne of Brittany who had the castle rebuilt, adding the tower that would bear her name, a Flamboyant Gothic-style castle, a legacy of a distant past.

The tower dungeon of Anne-de-Bretagne is a 15C tower, built by Anne de Bretagne in Montfort-l’Amaury, perched on the feudal motte which dominates the village, the Anne de Bretagne tower is the only vestige of the old castle, This dungeon with an outdoor staircase serving each floor, was built on the site of the ruins of the old 12C castle, destroyed by the English during the Hundred Years War, restored by Anne-de-Bretagne, Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Montfort and benefactress, You have the old Castle ruins now only visible with a donjon tower built in the 12C call the tour d’Anne-de-Bretagne that was ordered built by herself. An irregular octagonal staircase on three levels, the remains of a tower with a width of about 20 meters, walls 2-3 meters thick and an approximate height of 18 meters.Celebrated by Victor Hugo in 1825 in his Ode aux Ruines (Ruins).

The city of Montfort L’Amaury on the tour Anne de Bretagne : https://www.montfortlamaury.fr/culture-tourisme/sites-et-monuments/la-tour-danne-de-bretagne-et-le-chateau/

The Yvelines dept 78 tourist office on the tour Anne de Bretagne : https://www.destination-yvelines.fr/visites-et-decouvertes/tour-anne-de-bretagne/

There you go folks, a bit of culture away in a small quant town ,indeed, a nice detour to see what could be call an off the beaten path visit in my sentimental Yvelines 78. The Tower Dungeon of Anne of Brittany is very nice to see, just across from the house museum of Maurice Ravel (see post). Again, hope you enjoy this post on the tower dungeon of Anne de Bretagne of Montfort L’Amaury, part II !! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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