The Ducal Palace of Nevers (french: Palais ducal de Nevers) is a residence castle of the 15th and 16th centuries that once belonged to the counts and dukes of Nevers. Located in

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in central France. It was the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. It is sou ...

, France, it is classified as a French '' monument historique'' in the

list of historic monuments of 1840 The List of historic monuments protected in 1840 is a list of the historic monuments of France created in 1840 by the French Commission for Historical Monuments (''Commission des monuments historiques''). It was the first protection of this type i ...

History

Considered as the first of the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

castles with its wide Renaissance façade surrounded by polygon turrets, it was built on the hill overlooking the center of the old town, the Republic Square and a big park. On the underground level, there is an ''avant-garde'' museum and a permanent exhibition representing the past and present life of

in a very vivid way. This building was constructed for John Clamecy,

Count of Nevers The counts of Nevers were the rulers of the County of Nevers, which became a French duchy in 1539, with the rulers of the duchy calling themselves dukes. History The history of the County of Nevers is closely connected to the Duchy of Burgundy ...

, in the place where his old fortress used to be. Two large back towers are known to be the oldest (15th century), as the Clèves family later in the 16th century rebuilt the castle by adding the splendid staircase which is situated in the central turret. There are consistent proportions between the ocher facade and slate roofs. From the castle, the long tree-lined esplanade offering a panoramic view continues to stretch to the edges of the Loire. Restored by the order of

Pierre Bérégovoy Pierre Eugène Bérégovoy (; 23 December 1925 – 1 May 1993) was a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France under President François Mitterrand from 2 April 1992 to 29 March 1993. He was a member of the Socialist Party and ...

in the 1980s, the palace now houses the town hall (including the Mayor's office and Council Chamber), part of the tourist office, exhibition halls, reception, a permanent exhibition on the history and advantages of the city (

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

, earthenware, etc.), and an aquarium of Loire fish. During the restoration excavations (mainly in 1988) which led to the discovery of many artillery fragments, beautiful pieces of 14th-century artillery were found ("powder chamber veuglaire"), which are based in an archaeological deposit in Nevers and are absolutely unique in France. It was in front of the Ducal Palace that the President of the Republic François Mitterrand held his famous speech on May 4, 1993 about

, who had committed suicide on May 1: "All the reasons in the world cannot justify those people who could destroy the honor of a man, and finally his life at the price of a breach of fundamental laws of our Republic which protects the dignity and freedom of everyone of us".

References

{{coord, 46, 59, 18, N, 3, 09, 30, E, region:FR_type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Châteaux of the Loire Valley Gonzaga residences Nevers