A little history of Vitré castle
And also
The tops
In 1060, Robert wasn't far wrong when he raised a stony keep on a rocky spur, overlooking river Vilaine: hey, we were here on borders of Brittany, Normandy and Anjou... what a strategical place!
When Guy VII of Laval inherited the fief, the Hundred years War was brewing away... so the new lord hurried to reinforce his castle.
So, Vitré became the main residence of mighty lords of Laval-Vitré, during the 15th century, before they died out one century later. Sooo... what happened with our castle, then?
We were in the 16th century: a time where Protestants and Catholics used to fight... Lords of Vitré became Protestants, with the influence of Renée de Coligny: she attracted all the Huguenots, among bourgeois in town...
This Protestant bastion was destroyed in 1589 by governor of Brittany, duke of Mercoeur... In the 18th century, Vitré was completely abandoned, successively transformed into barracks and into jail. The big towers soon collapsed, through lack of upkeep. We must wait 1871 to see the launching of a big restoration.