A little history of Tarascon castle
And also
The tops
Charles I d'Anjou, king saint Louis' brother, lived in the 13th century in the old Tarascon castle, surrounded by a wall flanked by crenelated towers.
Charles II, his son, extended the place in 1290. The fortress was besieged: by constable Du Guesclin in 1368, then by Raymond de Beaufort in 1399.
Then came more peaceful time... the reconstruction of the castle began, in October 1400! Architect André de Sainte-Marie designed plans.
King René came, then: at that time, counts of Provence often came here in Tarascon. Especially René, who organized a famous and memorable tournament! He also created the "Tarasque games".
Tarasque? A famous monster, here, in Provence, which used to haunt Tarascon area and frightened people...
In the 15th century, those games were very popular: people took around the monster effigy in the streets...
But then, the castle was again in turmoil: during the Fronde rebellion in the 17th century, marquis d'Effiat, Henri de Cinq-Mars and François-Auguste Thou were arrested by cardinal Mazarin for conspiracy...