Centre des monuments nationaux

Come and visit Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle, built fifteen kilometres from Blois during the 15th century, and discover an archetypal fortified castle with its keep, machicolated curtain walls, and fortified postern tower.

Visiting Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle 

• A small fortified castle. The imposing curtain wall was built around 1470 and contrasts with the picturesque small inner courtyard, flanked on two sides by buildings dating from 1450-1475 with doorways crowned by elegant Gothic sculpted pediments. The inside layout is typical of the Middle Ages.

• A Renaissance makeover. In the early 16th century, the building was closed off by a gallery with lowered arcades that is similar to that at the Chateau of Blois. The courtyard wall is decorated in the Renaissance style, with in particular the addition of pilasters with foliated scrolls and capitals. 

• A kitchen garden inspired by the Middle Ages. The river Bièvre flows through the garden, which is a lovely place to stroll around. The kitchen garden is composed of raised flowerbeds consolidated with planks or woven chestnut trellises.

Understanding Fougères-sur-Bièvre castle 

• A castle rooted in its locality. Fougères differs from the great chateaux of the Loire due to its sober, powerful architecture. The walls are made of hard calcareous Beauce ragstone, while a softer white stone, tuffeau or freestone from the banks of the river Cher, has been used for the moulded and sculpted parts.