CITY OF MONTRICHARD IN HISTORY

Montrichard castle

The Château de Montrichard is a ruined fortified castle located in the very center of the city. Built at the beginning of the 11th century by the famous Count of Anjou Foulques Nerra on the hill overlooking the Cher, it served as a fulcrum during his battle against the Count of Blois.

Hugues I of Amboise seized the fortress in 1109 and made several expansion works there. But Anjou becoming English possession, and Montrichard possession of the lords of Anjou, the king of France Philippe Auguste made a siege in 1188 in the city and the castle of Montrichard, to then partially destroy it. These are the remains that you see today. The Harcourts were owners by marriage at the end of the Middle Ages. Once again the castle was attacked, this time by the English during the famous Black Prince Ride.

The Harcourts exchanged the castle in 1461 with Louis XI for two seigneuries.The king then decided to marry his two daughters, Anne de France and Jeanne de France in 1474 and 1476 at the castle and at the Sainte-Croix church.

Sainte-Croix Church of Montrichard

Being primarily a chapel, this parish church is located at the foot of the castle and dates from the 16th century. Royal Church, it saw the Duke of Orleans, future King of France under the name of Louis XII , marry Princess Jeanne of France, daughter of Louis XI, on September 8, 1476.

Today it has original features belonging to the chapel, dating from the 11th century, such as the 17th century with the choir, or the 19th century with the bell tower. In 1749, a tower which dominated the steps of Sainte-Croix collapsed, then in 1753, the royal buildings collapsed, this time on the Sainte-Croix church itself.

It is not the only church in the city, along with the Notre-Dame de Nanteuil church .A building that has undergone several transformations at several times, it was notably supported by Louis XI and Queen Charlotte of Savoy who made it possible to finish the exterior staircase that you will be able to see.

The Bridge over the Cher

Finally, how to speak of Montrichard without mentioning the Bridge over the Cher , which still kept its medieval aspect. At the time, he was on the route linking Paris to Bordeaux. The English Plantagenets, owners of Anjou, built it. But it was demolished in the 19th century during the construction of the canalized Cher. However, it was rebuilt so as to be close to the 1680 version, except the extreme arch on the right bank, and the large left bank pile which is found bare. German troops undermined it during World War II, but the local Resistance defended it on September 2, 1944. Note that the film Le Moulin Rouge from the 1950s shows a scene where a stage coach passes over the Montrichard bridge .

Little anecdote: The Hollywood film "Stop me if you can "", with Léonardo Di Caprio, quotes as the place of origin of Paula, mother of the main character, Montrichard. She would have married an American in the city during the liberation of France in 1945. The scene where the hero is arrested, at the end of the film, is also supposed to take place on the place of the church of Montrichard (l 'Church of the Holy Cross). But in reality, it was produced on Place Royale in Quebec City in Canada…More info on this article !