A bit on the Château des Rohan or of Sainte Maure de Touraine, In its first phase of construction, by Foulques Nerra towards the end of the 10C, the castle consisted of a wooden dungeon. This wooden structure is substituted for a castle made up of stones and square plan during the same period , The castle is fortified by means of a surrounding wall formed by a palisade lined with a ditch. In the second half of the 11C, shortly after the year 1050, a domicilium was built within the castle, After the dismantling of the castle made of stones, in the 13C, another phase of reconstruction was born in the Middle Ages. From this period, the 14C, several elements were still existing. The wall of the lordship’s house, protected, at one of its ends, by a square tower remains. Likewise, the surrounding wall on the middle side defended by a semi-circular tower is still in place. Finally, the vestiges of this third construction phase also include a circular and partially lean tower as well as the fortified entrance tower all the inventoried buildings at the end of the 17C, only the main building remains.
Access to the castle is carried out by a entry tower. A public road, furnished in the first half of the 19C, crosses the courtyard of the castle, The dungeon, of square shape, has marks, reported overhanging the door, indicating the existence of a drawbridge. The crowning of this tower has been destroyed. The tower has, on the ground floor, an access corridor. A room, set up on the first level, completes the set, The main body has two floors. Two turns with polygonal plane came to flank the body main of the house in the 15C. These two towers, erected during the fourth phase of construction, each contain a screw staircase. Only one of the two towers, that located to the south, survived after the school’s installation work carried out during the 19C.
A bit of history of the castle I like tell us that the promontory on which the castle was built was affected by a relatively level relief. The castle, whose lordship house finds its location on the highest point of the promontory, overlooks the Manse valley, Around 990, under the impetus of the count of Anjou Foulques III of Anjou , a dungeon designed in wood is erected on the promontory ,and at the beginning of the 13C, in 1203, the fortified castle was the subject of destruction. This event would probably be the fact of Guillaume des Roches, having then acted on the orders of the King of England Jean Sans Terre, Later, Guillaume de Pressigny (Guillaume II as “Lord of the Castle and the land of Sainte-Maure”) rallied to the camp of Philippe Auguste , rebuilds the castle, After several ownership changes in the iddle of the 15C the castle was again marked by major reconstruction work. Between 1436 and 1455, Aymar III de La Rochefoucauld notably built polygonal towers. The castle then takes its almost definitive aspect, During this time and up to the events of the French revolution, several feudal houses successively hold the fortified castle, by marriage or blood link, In 1560, King François II and his wife Marie Stuart, stayed in the fortress ,then in 1605, Philippe Duplessis-Mornay met Henri IV there. In 1619, as part of the peace treaty with her son Louis XIII, the Queen-mother Marie de Médicis moved to the fortress of Sainte-Maure, before going to the castle of Couzières, in the parish of Veigné, official place of “reconciliation”. On July 8, 1661, Louis XIV back from Saint-Jean de Luz, a place where he had just signed a treaty of peace with Spain, and accompanied by his Spanish wife Marie-Thérèse of Austria, stopped at the Château de Sainte-Maure. During this short stay, the King amnesty all the prisoners incarcerated in the embarrassments of the castle, Jump ahead to 1836, the stately house served as premises for the gendarmerie. In 1838, the town of Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine acquired the castle , It later served as a school from 1848 until 1968, In the second half of the 1970s, three of the rooms located on the ground floor are fitted out to house a museum. This museum has a collection of documents and parts relating to municipal history, a collection of fossils and minerals; As well as works of art and others of “popular traditions” The museum, administered by employees of the Tourist Office, welcomed in 1995 a collection of ceramic artefacts. The museum is transformed into a heritage house and a project highlighting temporary exhibitions is initiated in the 2010s. A house of heritage will subsequently occupy the interior of the castle, To call for reservation and opening hours,
The town of Sainte Maure de Touraine on its heritage (see château) : http://www.sainte-maure-de-touraine.fr/editorial.php?id=130
There you go folks, my dandy road warrior trips into new territories of Sainte Maure de Touraine, always surprises ,nice architecture and great history, we love it. We will be back to the region as there is a whole lot more to see around here ,and this road warrior will keep on motoring! Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Château des Rohan of Sainte Maure de Touraine !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!! 
Paris1972-Versailles2003 