1-154-788 - Art Media/Heritage Images

'The Port of Cordelieres and Castle Loches', Touraine, France, 1891. Built on a rocky outcrop (on the site of a Gallic oppidum) the chateau towers over the town and its outer walls conceal a beautiful medieval city. The heir apparent to the throne, Charles, took refuge there and then came the historic moment when Joan of Arc begged him to go to Reims to be crowned king. Once he had become Charles VII, he went back to the chateau with his Damoyselle de Beauté, Agnès Sorel, the first official mistress of a king of France. Louis XI enlarged the fortress and made it a state prison, while Louis XII built the second wing of the Royal Residence, on the northern wing of the outer wall, which contrasts with the southern wing, which looks more feudal with its turrets, watchtowers, and its parapet.