Château de Plessis-lez-Tours
Encyclopedia
The Château de Plessis-lez-Tours is a Renaissance
château
located in the town of La Riche
in the Indre-et-Loire
department, in the Loire Valley
of France.
It was the favorite residence of King Louis XI of France
, who died there on 30 August 1483. It was also the scene of the first meeting between King Henry III of France
and the future King Henry IV of France
.
The present building is only a small part of the château originally built by Louis XI in the 15th century. The original château had three wings in the shape of a U. The room where Louis XI died can be visited. It has wooden panelling in the style called 'napkin folds' popular in the 15th century. The first floor has paintings and sculpture devoted to St. Francis of Paola, whom Louis XI summoned to live near him until his death.. Inside the château is a display of iron cages which were suspended from the ceiling and used to hold prisoners. The cages were so small that the prisoners were unable to stand.
The château is listed as a Monument historique
since 1927 by the French Ministry of Culture.
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
château
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
located in the town of La Riche
La Riche
La Riche is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France.-References:*...
in the Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
department, in the Loire Valley
Loire Valley
The Loire Valley , spanning , is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately . It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke, asparagus, and...
of France.
Louis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
, who died there on 30 August 1483. It was also the scene of the first meeting between King Henry III of France
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
and the future King Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
.
The present building is only a small part of the château originally built by Louis XI in the 15th century. The original château had three wings in the shape of a U. The room where Louis XI died can be visited. It has wooden panelling in the style called 'napkin folds' popular in the 15th century. The first floor has paintings and sculpture devoted to St. Francis of Paola, whom Louis XI summoned to live near him until his death.. Inside the château is a display of iron cages which were suspended from the ceiling and used to hold prisoners. The cages were so small that the prisoners were unable to stand.
The château is listed as a Monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
since 1927 by the French Ministry of Culture.