Page 216 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Brittany

214  BRIT T AN Y REGION B Y REGION

Château des Ducs de Bretagne

On the banks of the Loire, the Château des Ducs de Bretagne was
founded in the 13th century, and served both as a residen tial
palace and military fortress. Anne of Brittany was born here in
1477, and it is here that Henri IV is supposed to have signed
the Edict of Nantes in 1598. Over the centuries, the castle was
continually remodelled. The sturdy towers and drawbridge are
counterbalanced by delicate Renaissance buildings facing on to
the courtyard. Converted into barracks in the 18th century, the . Grand Logis
castle passed into state ownership after World War I. A restor ation The façade bears the
pro gramme to return the buildings to their original appearance coat of arms of Louis
XII and Anne
was carried out between 1993 and 2006. The castle now contains of Brittany.
a major museum of the history of Nantes, with more than
850 historical objects arranged across 32 rooms.

Entrance to
museum

Petit Gouvernement
Built in the 16th century,
during the reign of François I,
the king’s apartments are
now known as the Petit
Gouvernement (Governor’s
Small Palace). The dormer
windows are typical of
the Renaissance.

KEY
1 Courtine de la Loire, the wall
linking Tour de la Rivière and Tour
du Port, was built in the 15th and
16th centuries.
2 Tour du Port was hidden by a
bastion for 200 years. The bastion
was demolished in 1853.
3 The castle museum is devoted
to regional folk art of the 16th
to 20th centuries.
4 Bastion St-Pierre, built in Tour de la Rivière
the 16th century, was levelled Forming part of the
off in 1904. castle’s sys tem of
5 The Harness Room was defences, the Tour de
built by the army in the 17th la Rivière consists of
and 18th cen turies. two floors with a
terrace above.
For hotels and restaurants see p229 and p243

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