Château de Baugé

Now managed by the municipality, the château and the Hôtel-Dieu (hospital) of Baugé epitomize the patrimonial richness of a thousand-year-old city labeled “most beautiful detour of France” and “Little Town of Character”. Known for his manifold architectural accomplishments, King René, Duke of Anjou, had the château constructed in the 15th century as an essentially personal hunting lodge. Simplicity, charm and elegance are key to this architectural complex, one example being the imposing cantilever spiral staircase with its palm tree-shaped vault.

Baugé first appeared in the early 11th century when Foulques III Nerra, Count of Anjou and a formidable warrior, had built on a rocky spur at the junction of the Couesnon and the Altrée rivers, a fortress to safeguard the eastern section of his territory. No trace of what was once a vast complex subsists today, the last remaining vestiges having been razed in the mid-19th century when today’s Place de l’Europe was brought into being in front of the château. Between the 11th and the 14th centuries, a new castle was built on the site of today’s, but source materials on that epoch are few and far between. In all likelihood, the building was burnt to the ground during the Hundred Year’s War. In any event it was on that foundation that from 1454 to 1465, following commission by King René I to his architect, Guillaume Robin, today’s building was erected.

Projections in the rafters, the first-floor scenography, the reimagined royal chamber, the play activity centers, digital exploration areas, family-oriented entertainment, dramatized visits… These are just some of the attractions placed at the disposal of visitors of all ages wishing to understand the life of the Good King René, at heart an artist and by duty a seigneur

A visit to the Château de Baugé goes hand in glove with discovery of the Baugé Hôtel-Dieu. As the first hospital to exist in the town, its opening in 1650 was a tribute to the tenacity of two women intent on offering a place of welcome and care to the deprived and the destitute. Only in 2001, after 350 years of hospital activity, did it close its doors. And now? Little by little, room after room, the ward for the sick, the baroque chapel, the monastic buildings, and the “garden of the humble” uncover their secrets. An architecturally coherent complex attests to the double vocation of the site: nursing for the soul, care for the body.

Among the many small masterpieces to be discovered in the Loire valley, the apothecary house occupies a peculiar place; a mysterious atmosphere permeates the 17th-century pharmacy, long since recognized as one of the richest and most complete in Europe.