Château de Tiffauges
Encyclopedia
The Château de Tiffauges is a medieval castle
situated in the French commune
of Tiffauges
in the Vendée
département.
The castle is also known as the château de Barbe-bleue (Bluebeard
's castle) after its most famous resident, Gilles de Rais
, known as Barbe-bleue. It was here that Bluebeard perpetrated his atrocities.
(border lands) between Brittany
, Poitou
and Anjou
and thus an important strategic point. It is positioned on a hill at the confluence
of the Sèvre Nantaise
and Crûme rivers, this position providing protection against assailants.
(1404–1440) is associated with the castle.
centre.
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
situated in the French commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Tiffauges
Tiffauges
Tiffauges is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.-History:Gilles de Rais had his castle there....
in the Vendée
Vendée
The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...
département.
The castle is also known as the château de Barbe-bleue (Bluebeard
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
's castle) after its most famous resident, Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Rais
Gilles de Montmorency-Laval , Baron de Rais, was a Breton knight, a leader in the French army and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known as a prolific serial killer of children...
, known as Barbe-bleue. It was here that Bluebeard perpetrated his atrocities.
Location
The castle is in the MarchesMarches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....
(border lands) between Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
and Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
and thus an important strategic point. It is positioned on a hill at the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Sèvre Nantaise
Sèvre Nantaise
The Sèvre Nantaise is a river in western France, left tributary to the river Loire. Its source is in the Deux-Sèvres département, near Secondigny.It flows through the following départements and towns:*Deux-Sèvres: Moncoutant, La Forêt-sur-Sèvre...
and Crûme rivers, this position providing protection against assailants.
History
The castle was built between the 12th and 16th centuries. The notorious murderer, Gilles de RaisGilles de Rais
Gilles de Montmorency-Laval , Baron de Rais, was a Breton knight, a leader in the French army and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known as a prolific serial killer of children...
(1404–1440) is associated with the castle.
Today
For a long time, the castle was abandoned and lay in ruins, the inner yard even used for a while as a football pitch by the local club, RST Tiffauges. The castle is now owned by the Conseil Général of Vendée. It hosts a series of spectacles and collections, including medieval war machines and an alchemyAlchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
centre.