The royal Château de Plessis-lèz-Tours () is the remains of a late Gothic

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

located in the town of

La Riche La Riche () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It is part of the agglomeration of Tours. Population See also * Château de Plessis-lez-Tours * Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list ...

in the

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.Loire Valley The Loire Valley (, ), spanning , is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about . It is r ...

of France. Around three fourths of the former royal residence were pulled down during the French Revolution in 1796. Plessis-lèz-Tours was the favorite residence of King

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

, who died there on 30 August 1483. It was also the scene of the 1589 meeting between King

Henry III of France Henry III (; ; ; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575. As the fourth son of King Henry II of France, he ...

and the future King

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

which resulted in their alliance against the Catholic League. The present building is only a small part of the château originally built by Louis XI in the 15th century. The original château had three wings in the shape of a U. The room where Louis XI died can be visited. It has late 15th-century wooden

linenfold Linenfold (or linen fold) is a simple style of relief carving used to decorate wood panelling with a design "imitating window tracery", "imitating folded linen" or "stiffly imitating folded material". Originally from Flanders, the style became ...

panelling. The first floor has paintings and sculpture devoted to St. Francis of Paola, whom Louis XI summoned to live near him until his death. Inside the château is a display of iron cages which were suspended from the ceiling and used to hold prisoners. The cages were so small that the prisoners were unable to stand. The remaining wing, which had long been used as a dairy farm and a

buckshot A shotgun cartridge, shotshell, or shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) ammunition used specifically in shotguns. It is typically loaded with numerous small, spherical sub-projectiles called shot. Shotguns typically use a ...

factory, has been listed as a ''

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

'' since 1927 by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

. File:Chateau de Plessis-les-Tours Louis Boudan.jpg, Château de Plessis-lez-Tours. File:CHateau de Plessis-les-Tours Courtyard Louis Boudan.jpg, View of the Royal Château de Plessis-lèz-Tours three wings in 1699 File:Château royal du Plessis.jpg, View of the Royal Château de Plessis-lèz-Tours from the park File:Chateau de Plessis-les-Tours 17th century.jpg, Chateau de Plessis-les-Tours 17th century File:Château de Plessis-lès-Tours 2.jpg, The remaining wing of the château (eastern façade) File:Plessis-lès-tours.JPG, The remaining wing of the château (western façade)

References

(This is an edited translation of the article in the French-language Wikipedia.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau De Plessis Lez Tours Houses completed in the 15th century Plessis-Lez-Tours Plessis-Lez-Tours Plessis-Lez-Tours