Château de Dourdan

P3

Exterior

The castle Dourdan (French Château de Dourdan ) in the city of Dourdan between Paris and Chartres is a typical mounting from the beginning of the 13th century. It was built by order of King Philippe Auguste to replace a wooden fortification. The moat was created similar to the Louvre.

The castle was built in 1385 the property of the Duke Jean de Valois; The Month of April his famous Book of Hours Très Riches Heures probably shows the state of the castle from the period around 1410 during the Wars of the garrison of the Duke of Guise was quartered there. ; from this period are the stables. The Donjon of the plant is around 30 meters high with a diameter of 13.6 meters, a typical representative of the donjon from the time of Philippe Auguste.

On the ground floor you will find the kitchen with the ovens, upstairs living room, under the roof of the hall the night guard. Since the Donjon has no loopholes, he may have played an important role in the defense. However, he served until the 17th century as a royal prison. Important prisoner in the castle were:

• Joan of Burgundy, daughter of Philip IV, in the wake of the affair of the Tour de Nesle, until she was freed from her husband Philip V in 1316 and Queen of France.
• La Hire, companion in arms of Joan of Arc

The castle is in the city center today, surrounded by wide and deep ditches, which served for defense, to a stone wall was built with eight towers with roofs in the origin zuliefen pointed. The Donjon with its 3.80 meter thick walls is in the northern corner. There, in the basement of the stone from Dourdan, which must be raised by a legend, under any circumstances, because the one who tries this will drown ( " Qui touche à la pierre de Dourdan perit par l' eau" ).

Model of the castle

Plan of the castle

April picture in the Très Riches Heures Hours