Montrichard Fortress, Montrichard Val de Cher

The Montrichard Fortress sits on a hilltop overlooking the Cher River valley, built around 1005-1010 by Foulques Nerra, the Count of Anjou, as part of his network of defensive strongholds across the Loire region. The current stone keep dates from 1109, when Hugues I d'Amboise replaced the original wooden tower with a square Romanesque donjon. The fortress served as a royal residence under Louis XI, who arranged two politically significant marriages here — including the 1476 union of his daughter Jeanne de France with Louis d'Orléans, later annulled by the Pope.