Peintres amateurs, photographes, Lavardin vous offre un sujet de choix : comme une estampe romantique les ruines de son château féodal... dominent l'un des plus beaux villages de France...
That's the Michelin Guide Vert's introduction to the village of Lavardin in the vallée du Loir, near the big town of Vendôme.
I've been there a few times, starting in 2001. Some of these pictures are from that trip. It was about then that Walt and I started seriously thinking about a move to France. Then we went back in 2004, on a nice day at the end of January, when we were spending our first winter in Saint-Aignan. We had cabin fever and just needed a nice outing, so off we went.
The old château's ruins really do loom over the town, and have been looming for nearly 1,000 years. The Loir river valley and the comté de Vendôme are a place where the old kingdom of France, based in Paris, collided with the Anjou territories of the Plantagenêts. Battles ensued, and fortresses were built. This photo and the two below (taken by Walt) are from our 2004 visit.
The donjon, or castle keep — the tall, blocky tower — actually dates back to the 11th century, according to the Michelin Guide. It's 26 meters (85 feet) tall, and over the centuries was closed in by three different sets of walls. Of it, Michelin says: Bien que très endommagé, ses ruines impressionnantes permettent encore de se faire une bonne idée... of how forbidding the whole complex must have been.
The château de Lavardin was captured by the protestant King Henri IV in the late 16th century, when he laid siege to what was a Catholic stronghold. At that time, the dismantlement of the old fortress began. The locals used the ruins as a quarry where they could mine stones to use in building their houses and barns. It's an old story, often repeated in different regions of France.
To show you where Lavardin is located, I did a screen capture of a Google Map and added some hot-pink dots showing the location of Saint-Aignan and of the famous tourist town of Amboise. Lavardin is 40 minutes by car north of Amboise, and a good hour's drive so from Saint-Aignan. Vendôme, Blois, and Tours are the big towns in the region.
It's interesting that the chateau was plundered for stones. They are probably incorporated into local houses. Much like Rome stripped the Colosseum of building materials, before historic preservation trends.
ReplyDeleteIt's happened in so many places. Jumièges in Normandy, Collonges-la-Rouge, and on and on. Innumerable cases and examples.
DeleteThanks for the map. I like visiting places with ruins like these. Recycling the stones seems natural but difficult work.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry we didn't get to go to Lavardin. So many villages, so much history, so little time.
DeleteSo many interesting towns in France, so little time. Thanks for these pics.
ReplyDelete'Tis true.
DeleteI wonder what Troo is like. Odd name for a village/town in France. Makes me think of Australia.
ReplyDeletePlace names like Trôo have very complex etymologies. Celtic origins. Latin influences. Inevitable phonetic evolution, erosion, and degradation over thousands of years. Not to mention spelling conventions that evolve over the centuries. It's all very mysterious and perplexing.
DeleteCeltic influence in France is certainly one thing I've learned on this blog over time. I knew nothing about it before, and surprising how pervasive it is.
DeleteI just love this history stuff :) Thanks so much for sharing so many interesting things with us, Ken.
ReplyDelete