A little history of Apremont castle
And also
The tops
Philip de Chabot, admiral of France, rebuilt the Renaissance castle. The beautiful building replaced an old fortress, raised in the 11th century on its rocky spur. The place fell to Chabot family in 1437, with the marriage of Isabeau d’Apremont and Renaud de Chabot, lord of Jarnac.
And Philip turned up! King François I’s best friend, he negotiated the king's release after battle of Pavia: François wanted to thank his friend by appointing him admiral...
Our admiral re-raised Apremont in 1534, with its huge main building flanked by 2 round towers: the western one is 40 metres high and 10 metres of diameter! But men plotted in Philip’s back... Men jealous of his success, and who accused him of embezzlement! In 1541, Philip was exiled... Just before he died, he gave Apremont to Brosse family.
Fell to the Montmorency-Luxembourg lords, Apremont was abandoned. In 1743, they even sold the castle stones! They were used for the construction of the Pirmil bridge in Nantes...
Nowadays we can visit the castle: the chapel with Philip de Chabot’s monument, but also a tunnel 20 metres long... which used to be a cold room.