Château de Langeais, a two-sided castle
Around the year 1000, two great lords, the Count of Anjou and the Count of Blois, fought over Touraine. Finally, the Count of Blois conquered the Place de Langeais, ideally located right between Tours and Saumur. And, of course, he is building a fortress there.
Let us go through the many details of the Hundred Years' War, during which this fortress was taken over and taken over by both houses until, in 1422, Charles VII bought it back.
And, it was worth fighting so hard for this fortress, then spending beautiful and beautiful écus to buy it, since he ordered it to be shot down! Only the dungeon escapes from it, which allows us today to say that it is one of the oldest stone dungeons in France.
In short, all this is indicated "to situate", since we are talking about something that no longer exists at all (except the dungeon)!
In fact, the history of the castle as we know it begins in 1465, under Louis XI, who ordered the construction of a brand new castle. The predecessors having razed everything to the ground, he had all the space he wanted to build what we now call the Château de Langeais!
And here we are, on the city side, with a beautiful facade of a real fortified castle: the big towers, the drawbridge, the round path on machicolations (you know, it's the ingenious device that allows boiling oil to flow, for example, that those below! Welcome to our home!). In short, it is the medieval side.
But, on the other hand, on the courtyard side, therefore, what was expected at the time was achieved so that the place would be pleasant, widely open to the outside through beautiful windows... it is the other side, which you can only discover by using the drawbridge to enter the castle.
Château de Langeais, an impossible castle to photograph
When you stand in front of the castle, there is only a small square between you and him, and, because you can't stand back, you look up! And, if you want to take a picture of it, except with a super wide angle that will distort everything, it's impossible.
And it is also impossible to take a step back, since you will sink, in reverse, into the street that is on your back, and, as a result, you will have the houses in the field!
The town hall of Langeais still wanted to have a nice picture of its castle.
So she called on a local professional photographer, who used a basket, and then, from this basket, he was carried in front of several points on the facade. He took several photos from the front, so that they overlap a little on the edges.
All that remained was to assemble them electronically to obtain the impossible photo, the photo of the entire castle, from the front, and without deformation!
After (or before!) the visit of the Castle, a good restaurant?
A word about the restaurant "Au coin des halles", which is a few metres from the castle. Why report this restaurant? Because it is considered one of the best in the region (it is good to book!).
In winter, in the very clean decor of its room, or in summer, in a garden, you will discover a short but very successful menu.
Any advice?
The caramelized goose slice with sweet spices, celery ball and khaki... It is the despair of the chef who likes to change his menu regularly, but who cannot replace it with anything else, because every time he tries to do so, it is asked of him!
To visit other nearby castles, see this article: Cinq-Mars-La-Pile, a small town, a pile, a castle and legends
Castle and park of Langeais
Place Pierre de Brosse
37130 Langeais
Phone : 02 47 96 72 60
contact@chateau-de-langeais.com
Au Coin des Halles
9, Rue Gambetta
37130 Langeais
Phone : 02 47 96 37 25
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