Castle of Vincennes
See also: Castle of Vincennes (homonymy)
The castle of Vincennes is most important strong Château royal French remaining. By the height of sound Keep, 50 meters, it is the highest fortress of plain of Europe. It was set up 14th century at the 17th century on the commune of Vincennes.
History
The medieval time
The simple hunting lodge, arranged by Louis VII towards 1150 in the forest of Vincennes, becomes at the 13th century a manor which make build Philippe Auguste and Saint Louis. It is of Vincennes that Saint Louis for a crusade will leave of which it will not return. In the middle of the Middle Ages, Vincennes was more than one fortress military: Philippe III (in 1274) and Philippe IV of France (in 1284) married there and three kings of the 14th century die there: Louis X (1316), Philippe V (1322) and Charles IV (1328). In addition, the Relique S of the crown of spine were preserved at Vincennes before joining the Sainte Vault of Paris. A new vault was built in the enclosure of the castle to receive a fragment of the relic remained in Vincennes.Towards 1337, Philippe VI of Valois decides to strengthen the site by building a keep in the west of the manor. With its 52 meters height, it is the most important medieval fortification of Europe. The monumental enclosure, which develops on more than one kilometer (330 X 175 m), flanked of three doors and six turns 42 meters height, was built by Valois, two generations later, about 1410. Its ditches were fed by the Ru of Montreuil , brook downward of the plate of Montreuil-sous-Bois. The overflow moved then towards Paris and was thrown in the Lac of Saint-Mandé.
Rebirth with the Restoration
Henri IV was one of the forced hosts of the castle, in which he was imprisoned during the Wars of religion.At the 17th century, the architect Louis Vau wrongly built for Louis XIV the wings (known as " pavillons") of the King and the Queen. The castle became thus the third royal residence. Rebuilding works were however not continued because Versailles concentrated all the efforts then. The castle preserves however some examples of the early Style Louis XIV in the large apartments. This model will quickly be exceeded by the Château of Be worth-the-Viscount, which will be worth with Nicolas Fouquet the honors of the prison of Vincennes.
Forsaken at the 18th century, the castle will be used as site for the Porcelain factory of Vincennes, precursor of that of Sevres, then of prison of State. The marquis of Sade, Mirabeau and Diderot was interned there.
Into 1796, the castle was converted into arsenal, sheltering the historical section since then of the army. In 1804, the duke of Enghien was shot in the ditches of the castle. Appointed governor of the castle by Napoleon, the general Pierre Daumesnil defended it with eagerness at the time of the occupation of Paris by the Russian troops and Prussians in 1815. These last, who wanted to seize the arsenal of the castle, ran up against the intransigence of the general. With less than 200 men, this one resisted, in spite of the pressures and the attempts at corruption, with the seat of the fort lasting more than five months. It ends up capitulating on order of Louis XVIII and left the fortress with the Tricolor.
The modern time
The park was altered at the 19th century in the taste of the English gardens. Napoleon III entrusted to Purple-the-Duke the responsibility to restore the vault and the keep and administratively bequeathed the 9,95 km of the Bois of Vincennes to the Ville of Paris.October 15th, 1917, it was with the turn of Mata Hari to be shot for espionage in the ditches of the fortress of Vincennes. The Castle of Vincennes also served as transitory general headquarter with the state major of the General Maurice Gamelin, in load of the defense of France against the German invasion of 1940. August 20th, 1944, 30 hostages were there in their turn carried out by the forces Nazis.
In 1964, Charles de Gaulle, then President of the Republic, wished to leave the Elys3ee palace, which he considered wedged in Paris, without prospect on the capital and not enough prestigious too much to accommodate the Head of the State. It chooses the castle of Vincennes to become the new presidential home. The operation will be forgotten in the files with the profit of other priorities.
The contemporary revival
The castle of Vincennes concerns at the same time the Ministère of the Culture - it is a historic building - and ministry for Defense - the castle shelters the historical Service of defense (SHD). Since 1988, a vast program of restoration was undertaken. Important work of the keep was completed in 2007 after a general consolidation of its structure and reopening with the public of the royal apartments.
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