History History

During the renovation of the Chinon fortress in the early 2000s, archaeological excavations revealed human occupation on the Chinon plateau as early as the Neolithic period.

Other, much older excavations have unearthed, on the site of the present-day Fort Saint-Georges, the ditch of a square enclosure housing the residence of an aristocrat and Gallic warrior with private houses, agricultural buildings and a collective space. The occupation of the troglodyte caves in this sector is also very old. At that time, the establishment of a village below is also attested.

He is the great saint of Touraine. Born in what is now Hungary, then in the Roman Empire, the future Saint Martin of Tours, Saint Martin the Merciful or Saint Martin of the Fields, was the son of a military tribune. Attracted to the new Christian religion at an early age, he accepted to become a legionary to please his family, but turned away from the military career. We remember the iconic scene in which he gives half his coat to a poor man who is freezing. Martin became a hermit near Tours. After the death of the bishop of Tours, against his own will, the population kidnapped him to take the vacant place. After becoming bishop, Martin did not change his lifestyle. Like his fellow monks, he willingly slept in a cave, ate little and fished in the Loire.

The collegiate church of Saint-Mexme in Chinon is dedicated to one of Saint Martin's disciples and Candes-Saint-Martin bears his name. It is in this village that he died in 397, after a life of preaching and good works, on the very site of the present collegiate church, which is dedicated to him. This jewel of Angevin Gothic architecture, built from the end of the 12th to the beginning of the 13th century, is a place of pilgrimage. Numerous statues adorn its facade and stained glass windows recount the history of the relics of Saint Martin. In 2016 was inaugurated the via martiniensis, an itinerary that links his native Hungary to Candes-Saint-Martin.

Chinon knew its hour of glory. In the 12th century, under the reign of the Plantagenets, Henry II and Queen Eleanor, and later Richard the Lionheart, stayed at Chinon Castle. In the 15th century, to escape the English occupation, King Charles VII and his court left Paris to settle in the castle of Chinon on several occasions. His devoted and exemplary wife, Queen Marie d'Anjou, who gave him 14 children, including the future Louis XI, was responsible for the complete renovation of the castle of Chinon. In 1429, Joan of Arc met King Charles VII in Chinon.

He was the last Grand Master of the Order of the Temple, a body of soldier monks founded in the 12th century to ensure the safety of pilgrims going to Jerusalem. Jacques de Molay led the order from 1292 until its dissolution by the king of France in 1312. In 1307, Philip the Fair, using the deviations of the order as an excuse, had its members arrested for heresy. Several months after this episode, 75 of its members were sent before the Pope in Poitiers. On the way, the king had five dignitaries of the order, including its grand master Jacques de Molay, detained in Chinon. Imprisoned in the fortress from June to August 1308, these Templars left numerous graffiti in the Coudray tower. In August, papal emissaries heard the prisoners at the fortress as part of their trial. The result was an important document for the history of the order, the "Chinon parchment", kept in the secret Vatican archives. In 1314, at the end of the trial, Jacques de Molay was executed at the stake.

He ruled France from 1422 to 1461 when the kingdom was in crisis and bogged down in the Hundred Years War with England. Charles VII, known as the Victorious, was the eleventh son of the French king Charles VI. Dauphin at the age of 14, he was king of France at the age of 19. At the beginning of his reign, he travelled a lot in the Loire Valley and Chinon regularly welcomed the royal family and the court. He offered the lordship and its fortress to his wife, Marie d'Anjou. It was in Chinon that he met Joan of Arc, in 1429, before granting her men for the liberation of Orleans

Sometimes considered idle, Charles VII was a sovereign who distinguished himself by many reforms. Between 1445 and 1448, during a truce with the English, he reformed the military system, creating a royal and professional army, better supervised and paid, which became famous during the resumption of the war of 1449-53 with the reconquest of Normandy and Guyenne. The interventions of the Count of Orleans, Jean Dunois, a great military leader and fine diplomat, but also of the two Bureau brothers, masters of artillery, who developed the decisive use of cannons, can be cited. Charles VII undertook other reforms for the kingdom. The financial autonomy of the state was made possible with the creation of the first regular and direct tax: the taille, previously collected by the nobility and the clergy, who remained exempt. The royal authority asserted itself on the religious level, removing the pope from the administration of the Church of France in favor of the king. At the end of his reign, he also took measures to stabilize the currency and make justice more efficient.

Known to have been born in Domremy and died at the stake in Rouen, Joan of Arc drove the English out of France. This young peasant girl claims to have received the mission of Saints Michael, Margaret of Antioch and Catherine of Alexandria to deliver France from the English occupation. It was in Chinon that she managed to meet Charles VII on February 25, 1429. Driven out of Paris by the English, the king was then in exile with his court at the castle of Chinon. In front of the king, she evoked the preaching according to which the English had to be driven out of the kingdom and Charles VII had to be crowned in Reims. Joan of Arc was sent to Poitiers so that dignitaries and theologians could judge her good faith. Back in Chinon, she requested an audience with the king. Charles VII grants her a standard with three fleurs-de-lis on one side, the royal coat of arms, and on the other the Christ of the Apocalypse surrounded by the archangels Michael and Gabriel, and an army, to this peasant girl turned warrior. It was the beginning of an epic for this young girl, which ended with the coronation of Charles VII and the liberation of France from the English yoke. Captured by the Burgundians in Compiègne in 1430, she was sold to the English and condemned to be burned alive after a trial for heresy, enamelled with numerous irregularities. Innocent and rehabilitated in 1456, she was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920. Joan of Arc finally became one of the two secondary patron saints of France in 1922.

Rabelais was born in 1483 or 1494 at La Devinière in Seuilly, near Chinon, in the ancient province of Touraine. The date of his birth varies according to the sources and this mystery has not yet been solved, as no proof of his birth dates has been found. Many theories have been put forward on this subject and divide the historical community.

For a long time, Chinon and the Chinon region were linked to the inland waterway industry. The activity on the Vienne and its confluence with the Loire, both for the transport of passengers and goods, was very dynamic. Many trades were linked to navigation and river trade. Chinon underwent many urban transformations with the creation of the quays, the construction of the court, the town hall, the police station... Public spaces were developed with the planting of trees and statues paying tribute to the great characters of local history, including Rabelais and Joan of Arc.

In 1840, the first institutional recognition of the exceptional character of Chinon's heritage took place with the classification of the castle and the collegiate church of Saint-Mexme in the inventory of historical monuments.

In 1854, the municipality requested the demolition of the remains of the Chinon fortress. Prosper Mérimée's intervention was to save the day and marked the beginning of the long-term restoration of the fortress of Chinon. In 1926, the adjoining land was also classified.

In 1875, the construction of a railroad passing through Chinon led to the decline of the river trade, which had been flourishing until then. The installation of the railway station also led to the expansion of the city to the east.

In 2000, Chinon signed a "City of Art and History" agreement with the State and the Department. Chinon is committed to promoting its heritage through the work of heritage professionals and guide-lecturers recruited under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture. More than twenty monuments are now protected and the city center benefits from a safeguarded sector, an urban planning document that allows us to work on a daily basis to recognize, protect and improve the architectural and urban quality of the historic center

From 2003 to 2007, archaeological excavations and a rehabilitation program for the fortress took place. Between 2005 and 2006, the southern rampart of Fort Saint-Georges was restored. In 2006 and 2007, the tower of the eastern rampart, on the Château du Milieu side, was renovated. In 2007, restoration work began on the Coudray keep.

As the restoration of the ramparts and towers progressed, many places were reopened to the public. In 2018, it is the long-awaited opening of three new rooms, with new arrangements for the room of Charles VII, a room that stages daily life in the Middle Ages, a new room that traces the architectural history of the place. A new exciting and interactive tour...

In 2022, with Weapons and Royal Armor, the Fortress hosted an innovative exhibition, combining historical works and objects from the cinema and successful series. A unique comparison between pieces from museum collections of historical weapons and armor and the universe of Game of Thrones,Excalibur or The Lord of the Rings.

This sport probably appeared at the end of the 14th or the beginning of the 15th century and was practiced by kings and aristocracy. However, it was also accessible to the bourgeoisie, guilds, soldiers and even students. In fact, it was enough to be able to pay the rent of the material and the room to play. Listed as a historical monument since 2015, the Jeu de Paume hall in Chinon dates from the 16th century. Built in the historical center,

it lost its vocation in the 18th century, used in turn as a riding arena for the cavalry troops in garrison, a stable, a garage for a carriage rental company, a poultry store, and then gradually abandoned. Its original walls and its mid-sixteenth-century framework, certified by dendrochronological analysis, remain. A preservation and restoration project is under study.