Loches, like Azay-le-Rideau, is on the banks of the Indre. Château de Loches, which consists of the 10th to 12th century collegiate church of St Ours, the early 15th century Logis Royal built by Charles VII and the 12th century keep, said to be the first stone built castle keep in France, surrounded by a very thick wall, stands on a rocky promontory overlooking the very picturesque town which has several Renaissance houses. It is beautifully lit up at night. Jeanne d’Arc arrived here on 11th May 1429 after her historic victory at Orleans to meet the king. The local market, on Wednesday and Saturday mornings attracts people from throughout the region.
Monday’s Travel Photos – Loche in the Loire Valley http://t.co/KZxptIpPr8
Nice to see you featuring Loches (which, as you may know, is the reason we live where we do — so we can be within reach of Loches market 🙂
A couple of minor comments and corrections: the first photo is of the medieval gate to the citadel, not the keep. The actual keep (donjon in French), is the most significant building in the complex from an architectural point of view. It was the first stone built castle keep in France (well, actually it’s a toss up whether it was here or Langeais, but the builder was the same man…) and is still the tallest.
I didn’t realise it was the major reason for choosing your area! These were taken during a visit in 2011, or we would have dropped in to see you.
I’ve fixed up the errors (at least I didn’t call the donjon a dungeon as most of the websites in English seem to do!) and added the information about the keep of which I don’t seem to have a photo. I obviously didn’t realise its significance at the time.