France · Restored
Château de Clisson
The Château de Clisson is a medieval fortress in Clisson, Loire-Atlantique, France, standing on a rocky outcrop on the right bank of the Sèvre Nantaise. Built mainly from the 13th century and enlarged in the 15th century, it formed an irregular polygon of curtain walls and towers with a massive quadrangular keep and outer enceintes. The site was restored in the 19th–20th centuries and is a protected monument historique.
Its prime
1474
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1474
The shape it held in its prime.
Set on a rocky outcrop above the Sèvre Nantaise, the castle reads as an irregular polygon of high curtain walls pierced by narrow windows and gun-ports, flanked by round and rectangular towers. A massive quadrangular keep incorporates the gatehouse, while an extended western rectangular enceinte runs nearly 100 m with artillery towers. Walls are of roughly dressed grey stone; the roofline is dominated by battlemented parapets and crenellated walkways. At prime the fabric is complete and defensible.
Its story
The story of Château de Clisson.
The Château de Clisson stands on a rocky outcrop on the right bank of the Sèvre Nantaise, at a crossroads for Anjou and Poitou that made it one of the great fortified places on the frontiers of the then-independent Duchy of Brittany. The first Lords of Clisson occupied the site from the 11th century, and Clisson became the seat of a powerful châtellenie covering 23 parishes.
Built mainly from the 13th century and enlarged in the 15th, the castle forms an irregular polygon of curtain walls and towers with a massive quadrangular keep and outer enceintes. After 1420 it became the property of the Duke of Brittany and was one of the favourite residences of Duke Francis II, who was remarried there to Marguerite de Foix in 1474; until the 17th century it was the residence of the Avaugour family, descendants of François Ier d'Avaugour, illegitimate son of François II.
In 1807 the estate was bought by the sculptor François-Frédéric Lemot with the goal of conservation, and in 1962 the family sold the castle to the Conseil général of the Loire-Atlantique, which carried out important restoration works with the assistance of the French Ministry of Culture. It is protected as a monument historique.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1474.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Château de Clisson — including 1 interior: interior of the quadrangular keep. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Château de Clisson with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1474 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Château de Clisson.
The families that held Château de Clisson for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Clisson
The first Lords of Clisson occupied the site from the 11th century; seat of a châtellenie covering 23 parishes.
Avaugour
Residence of the Avaugour family — descendants of François Ier d'Avaugour, illegitimate son of Duke Francis II — until the 17th century.
Lemot
Bought in 1807 by the sculptor François-Frédéric Lemot for conservation; the family sold the castle to the Loire-Atlantique in 1962.
