Good news for lovers of old stones: the Château de Carrouges is open free of charge, this Sunday January 5, 2025, like all the first Sundays of each month, from November to March.
The opportunity to (re)discover the history of this building, which begins in the 14the century, a little before the time of Last Duelthis film by Ridley Scott about the legal duel between Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris. “It was Jean’s father who built the keep in the marshes. We are in a strategic area between the Duchy of Normandy and that of Maine, in the middle of the Hundred Years' War. Charles V then asked to defend this place”explains the castle administrator, Hervé Yannou. Construction began in 1367. “It’s made of bricks. We are in a swamp, the raw material was here, the mud had to be cooked. »
From one family to another
The castle will belong to various families, through marriages. It passed into the hands of Jean Blosset. He “is seneschal of Normandy and grand chamberlain of the king of France. Without destroying the keep, he undertook work which drastically improved the comfort of his residence in which he also received King Louis XI in person in 1473.we read on the castle’s website.
Still through marriages, the building will then belong to the Veneur de Tillières, “coming from a lineage whose honorary office was that of “grand huntsman”, that is to say organizer of prestigious hunts at the court of the Duke of Normandy and then the King of France. The castle will remain in this great Norman family until 1936! » Logical, therefore, that we find “one of the most important collections of hunting in Europe”assures Hervé Yannou.
This family will have a notable impact on the castle. In the 16th centurye century, Jean Le Veneur, confidant of King François Iisnotably raised the gatehouse at the entrance. This will be destroyed during the Battle of Normandy. The castle has been listed as a Historic Monument since 1927, and was purchased by the State in 1936. To discover the rest of its history, what better way than to come and spend a moment there? Not to mention that until March 2, a strange, intriguing and slightly terrifying cabinet of curiosities, with an entire mummy, is visible there…
