Château de Niort

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Not to be confused with the Château d'Aniort, near the village of Niort, Aude

The Château de Niort is a medieval castle in the French town of Niort in the département of Deux-Sèvres. It is normally referred to today as the Donjon (keep) de Niort It consists of two square towers, linked by a 13th/15th century building and dominates the Sèvre Niortaise valley.

The keep is the only remaining part of the castle. It was started by Henry II Plantagenet and completed by Richard the Lionheart. It was defended by a rectangular curtain wall 700m (~2,300ft). It was a veritable city, surrounded by houses, gardens and a parade ground on which stood the Saint-Gaudens church, destroyed during the Wars of Religion. From the 18th century, the castle served as a prison.

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[edit] History

Following Henry II's marriage to Eleanor of Aquitaine, the English Crown owned most of western France. Needing a secure base from which to maintain links with England, Niort was strategically placed as a site where Henry could maintain a garrison and supplies of personnel and weapons. He chose a site on the banks of the Sèvre where a wooden Merovingian castle had been burnt down by the Normans. Here he chose to build an austere structure that would guarantee his power. (Historians differ over the attribution; a recent hypothesis suggest that Henry's son Richard the Lionheart may have been responsible.)

The keep was the central point of a massive fortress. Its 700m long walls were reinforced with towers and there was just one entrance. The vast area covered by the castle extended between the River Sèvre to the markets and the modern Préfecture building to the rue Thiers. Almost at the cente stood two massive square towers, the highest 28m (~95ft) tall, reinforced with turrets. Each of the towers has a spiral staircase serving the upper floors. At the top, each has a round walk with machicolations.

Other features of the defensive structure included a drawbridge and a dry ditch 8m (~26ft) deep.

The Romanesque architecture (rectangular plan, openings with semicircular arches) is constructed to a high quality with the dressed stones closely jointed. The effect is a symbolic demonstration of English power externally, though the interior is rather spartan - there is no trace of chimneys, no large windows and no decorative sculpture.

At the start of the 13th century, the townspeople of Niort were besieged by Poitevin lords from the surrounding area, who blocked the entrances to the town and cut off provisions. This blockade lasted several years and threatened starvation. The castle, with its own sources of provisions, notably from the river, became the sole supplier for the town.

According to some experts, the second half of the 13th century saw the covering of the central area between the two towers, turning the castle into a more comfortable residence. However, with the Hundred Years War in progress, Niort was alternately under French and English domination. Finally, in the 14th century, the town of Niort was securely placed under the French crown, thanks to Du Guesclin. From the end of the century, the duc de Berry, brother of Charles V, began restoring the castle including improvements to the residential parts of the keep. Windows were built or enlarged to give more light; fireplaces were installed in the grand hall which was itself split into two floors; walls were painted or coated. De Berry also built, on the right bank of the river, facing the fortress, a new port (le Port Neuf).

Following the Wars of Religion, a terrace was built at the keep to store small cannons that could be deployed as required. Around this time, the importance of Niort declined and with it the castle, which began to fall into disrepair. In 1749, the north tower collapsed, weakening the rest of the building. The castle governor suggested demolishing the whole castle and building a new fortress, more modern and more comfortable for the garrison and the munitions depot. However, it was finally restored by the engineer Artus, who underpinned the tower from 1751. Three diamond-shaped vaults on the present ground floor date from this period.

After the Revolution the castle was sold by the town to the district, who later passed it to the Département. The outer walls and its twelve towers, in a poor state since the 17th century, the houses in the courtyard and the drawbridge had all disappeared. (The remains of some towers were uncovered during the building of the modern market.) In 1814, the fortified walls of the town were sold and demolished.

Classified as a monument historique in 1840, the castle housed the families of municipal employees or was used to store départemental archives. In 1870, the Département gave the keep and its land to the town, but continued to occupy it until the start of the 20th century.

Following the first national congress of ethnology in France, held at Niort in 1896, the keep began to take on its present function as a museum, initially housing the collection of Poitevin costumes.

[edit] Today

The castle houses the following museum collections:

- archaeological museum on the ground floor with Bronze Age, Gallo-Roman and Middle Ages exhibits
- museum of chamois leather and glove making on the first floor
- a reconstructed Poitevin interior from 1830 is found on the second floor, as well as a nationally important collection of costumes, headgear and jewellery.

From the roof, there is a beautiful view over the town and the Sèvre Niortaise.

Note: The museums are currently closed for building work.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Sources

  • This article was initially translated from part of this Wikipedia article « fr:Niort » , specifically from this version.
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