Paris (AP) – Overwhelmed by the crowd for visitors to France VersaillesThe Paris region offers a peaceful chateau experience. Vincennes’ Fortress, once the tallest keeper of the medieval royal residence in Europe, once held famous figures such as the Marques of Sade Mar.
The huge fortress east of Paris is just 15 minutes’ walk from the metro city centre and you’ll be immersed in history visitors as soon as you walk along the drawbridge.
The castle is much older than Versailles and is closer to Paris, said local guide Cindy Smili Yesli. “It’s a pretty quiet castle,” she said. “The conditions for visit are much more comfortable. Here you can really get a closer look at all the details of the Keep decorations.”
Vincennes welcomes up to 145,000 visitors a year. Check out Versailles.
The highest keep in Europe
The Chateau of Vincennes was first built in the second part of the 14th century. The 100 Years’ War was a place of royal residences used as a hunting base in the nearby forest, as it was furious between the French and British kingdoms. King Charles V of France, who took the throne in 1364, chose to make it his residence.
The huge 52 meters (171 feet) keep was intended to show the extent of French power.
“It has been a powerful symbol of royal monarchy since the mid-14th century,” Smili Yesli said.
But Vincennes was also a symbol of historic British success over France. King Henry V of England and his court moved to the Chateau for some time after the successful military campaign, following the Treaty of Troyes in 1420. King Henry V died in 1422 at Vincennes. He was 35 years old.
“According to the legend of Vincennes, his body turns into ashes in the castle’s kitchen and his bones have been retrieved,” Smili Yesli said.
A famous person has been imprisoned
Since the 15th century, breeding has been held in prisons. Famous prisoners include future king Henri IV of France, plot, writer and philosopher Dennis Didero, and Marquis de Sadeknown for his writings on sex.
“Sad Marquis de Sade was imprisoned in the care of Vincennes in the mid- to late 18th century for his writings and for his actions as a Libertin,” Smili Yessli said. “He was originally held on the first floor of Keep. But he wasn’t doing well to punish him with one of his cousins, Count Mirabeau’s prison, so he moved him to the first floor to punish him, and he’s been cold and humid.”
Many common law prisoners were imprisoned in Vincennes, including women, from 1679 to 1680, particularly during a series of scandals from 1679 to 1680, including addiction and witchcraft. Some of the graffiti left behind by the prisoners can still be seen on the stone wall.
Gothic sacred chapel
The magnificent sacred chapel facing Keep is built in Gothic style and features stunning mid-16th century stained glass windows depicting the apocalypse through a variety of spectacular scenes.
The castle served as a royal shelter during the Sheki era. In 1648, when a series of rebellions broke out in the kingdom, a young Louis XIV settled there.
The Saint King wanted to move further away from Paris later. Paris was hostile to him during that period. He continued by building a palace in Versailles, west of the French capital, and in 1682 he left Vincennes to court.
