Visit the Castle of Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Explore the charming medieval fortress

By Château de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Château of Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, north buildings (2008) by Bordes DavidChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, enlighted north-west facade (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The ideal fortress

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, main facade overlooking the street, closer view (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The castle of Fougères-sur-Bièvre was built in the late 15th century and has all the characteristics of an ideal fortress with its keep, the machicolated curtain wall at the entrance and its fortified gatehouse.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, view of the castle and its garden from the Bièvre river (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

An authentic castle as it now stands
The castle is particularly well preserved and, in its present state, looks much as it did from 1525 to 1530 with its military façade and the civil and domestic architecture of its inner courtyard...

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, corner tower, defense post (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

and its interior layout with a suite of rooms with no corridors.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, north-west facade, the entrance towers (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The elements typical of a fortress would make perfect stage scenery
In the forecourt, the main frontage is the only part of the castle which looks typically defensive.
However, this façade is nothing but theatrical scenery, since the castle was built in the late 15th century during a time of peace.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, lodgings (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, window seat in a romanesque room (2008) by Bordes DavidChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, view of the castle from the Bièvre river (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

A construction project which took its time
The castle was built by Pierre de Refuge between 1470 and 1480 and altered by Jean de Villebresme in around 1520. It acquired its definitive appearance over three generations and kept it.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, north-west facade, upper part of the corner tower (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Une résidence secondaire pour affirmer sa puissance
Château conçu pour recevoir, son architecture gothique défensive permet à Pierre de Refuge d’affirmer son statut social et son appartenance à la noblesse française.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, north-west facade (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The various spaces, from the façade to the encircling walkway

A complete tour of its nooks and crannies, from bottom to top.

The forecourt and the main frontage
Built by Pierre de Refuge, this austere and defensive frontage, 35 meters long, has two large and dissimilar corner towers and two turrets framing the main entrance, with traces of a drawbridge.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, the keep and the northern corner of the castle (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The master-tower
The master-tower has four levels surmounted by an attic and appears virtually “blind”, pierced only by loopholes for cannon which add to its defensive appearance.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, north-west buildings (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, closer view point of the north-east buildings from the garden (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Its upper floors contain the bedrooms of the lord of the manor and his family. The tower is served by an external spiral staircase in the southern corner of the courtyard.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, main facade overlooking the street, closer view (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The round tower and the west wing
Equally monumental as the master-tower, but less massive, the round tower has all the architectural features of the great gothic châteaux of the 15th century. ts general austerity is relieved by the unusually decorative treatment of the crenellations of its encircling walkway.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, timbers, wall-walk (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The curtain wall at the entrance: encircling walkway and covered gallery
Crowning the curtain wall, a machicolated encircling walkway, with some narrow passages, links the master-tower to the round tower without interruption. The covered stone gallery replaced an earlier wooden passageway.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, medieval facade on the courtyard (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The main courtyard
The picturesque main courtyard, opposite and to the right of the entrance, presents two main blocks, the oldest parts of the castle, built between 1450 and 1475.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, west corner of the courtyard from the gallery (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, main courtyard, gallery and south-east wing (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The arcaded gallery
An important area in the life of the castle, the gallery with its surbased arcades links two rooms, providing shelter and making it possible to converse while walking.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, main courtyard's gallery (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

It is somewhat similar to the covered gallery in the château of Blois.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, ground floor, corridor (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The main accommodation block
The main accommodation block was built at the same time as the reception room block in order to close the courtyard and is served by a spiral staircase.
Built over an old ditch which had been filled in, the two stories each contain two soberly decorated rooms.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, first floor, guardroom (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, main view of the eastern facade (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The reception room block at the end of the courtyard
Annexed to the entrance frontage, this block affirms that the owner of the property was a good host.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, main courtyard and south-east wing (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

It enabled reunions of friends and family as well as balls and banquets to be held and accommodated the castle’s staff.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, corner tower, details of the roof top (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The frameworks

The framework, 80% of it original

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, upper level, timbers (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

80% of the frameworks of the castle of Fougères-sur-Bièvre are original.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, corner tower, wall-walk and access to the watch room (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

They were built without metal fixing devices, representing true technical prowess considering their size.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, corner tower, details of the roof top (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Even more impressive is the framework resembling an upturned boat in the upper great room, not to mention the framework of the encircling walkway.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, south-east facade seen from a bench in the aviary (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The river Bièvre and the romantic garden in the medieval style

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, garden and aviary seen from the castle (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Crossed by the river Briève, the garden, medieval in its inspiration, consists of square or rectangular formal flower beds...

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, garden and aviary seen from an upper window (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

...combined with “wooden boxes” where herbs, simples and vegetables are grown.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, vegetable garden seen from an upper window (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

Rearranged to give pleasure, the garden is a haven of peace beside the Bièvre.

Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, view point on the north-east buildings from the garden (2013-09-16) by Codina GillesChâteau de Fougères-sur-Bièvre

The plants grown in the garden provided not only food but were also used for washing (soapwort, beet juice) and for personal care (bedstraw, lavender and tansy).

Credits: Story

This virtual exhibition has been put together by teams from the Centre des monuments nationaux, with the help of teams from the château de Fougères-sur-Bièvre, the support of teams from the images unit and coordination by the digital unit.

The images were taken from Regards - Banque d’images des monuments © Centre des monuments nationaux.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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