France · 11th century
The Château de Châteaubriant is a medieval castle strongly modified during the Renaissance, located in the commune of Châteaubriant in the Loire-Atlantique département of France. The original castle was founded in the 11th century on the eastern border of Brittany and, such as the fortresses in Vitré, Fougères, Ancenis and Clisson, it was defending the duchy against Anjou and the Kingdom of France.
The castle was renovated several times during the Middle Ages and the town of Châteaubriant developed at its side. During the Mad War, the castle was seized by the French after a siege. The keep and the halls, partially destroyed, were renovated in the flamboyant style. Eventually, during the 16th century, the château obtained its definitive appearance when the new Renaissance palace was built against the medieval enceinte.
After the French Revolution, the château was sold and divided several times, and was finally transformed into an administrative centre, with the seat of the sous-préfecture, a court and a police station. All these offices closed down after 1970, and nowadays the château is partly opened to visitors.
Text adapted from “Château de Châteaubriant” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Château de Châteaubriant ranks #5,165 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #457 of the 793 mapped in France. Founded c. 1050, it is older than 89% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 436 atlas entries founded in the 11th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,002 times in the last 60 days, more than 69% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Angers, 67 km away. See how France compares in the castle statistics.
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