Chinon

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Administration
Commune of Chinon Image:Château de Chinon vue de la Vienne.JPG Château de Chinon
Location
Coordinates	47°10′04″N, 0°14′37″E
Country	France
Région	Centre
Département	Indre-et-Loire
Arrondissement	Chinon
Canton	Chinon
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes de Rivière - Chinon - Saint-Benoît-la-Forêt
Mayor	Jean-Pierre Duvergne
Statistics
Altitude	27 m–112 m (avg. 37 m)
Land area¹	39.02 km²
Population² (1999)	8,716
- Density (1999)	223/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	37072/ 37500
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq. mi. or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).
Image:Flag of France.svg

Image:Chinon - Project Gutenberg eText 16933.jpg Chinon is a town and commune of the Indre-et-Loire département in France.

1 Geography
2 Château
3 Wine
4 Miscellaneous
5 See also

[edit] Geography

Chinon is located in the Vallée de la Vienne (Vienne River valley). It is situated on the banks of the Vienne River, at 47°10′N 0°14′E

[edit] Château

The importance of Chinon derives from its position on the bank of the Vienne river, just before it joins the Loire. From prehistoric times, the rivers of France formed the major trade routes, and the Vienne joins the fertile southern plains of the Poitou and the city of Limoges to the mighty thoroughfare of the Loire, thus giving access to the sea at the port of Nantes on the western coast, and to the Ile de France in the east. Chinon offers an easy crossing point by means of a central island in the Vienne, and the rocks dominating the shore provided not only a a natural fort, but also protection against the annual flooding of the river.

Sitting high on a plateau, a huge castle dominates the entire town. The site appears to have been used for a a Gallo-Roman castrum. Towards the end of the fourth century, a follower of St Martin, St Mexme established first a hermitage, and then a monastery on the eastern slope of the town. This foundation flourished in the Early Middle Ages, with a large and highly decorated church, a cloister and a square of canon's residences. Unfortunately the all too familiar pattern of Huguenot damage in the sixteenth centre followed by closure and partial demolition during the Revolution of 1789 and onwards has left only a much-damaged facade and tower, although the building is now being restored as a cultural centre.

The mount of Chinon was fortified as a stronghold by Theobald I, Count of Blois in the year 954. In the 12th century Chinon, located in (then) Anjou in present day France, was a primary residence of Henry II (Angevin King and King of England) and served with Poitiers and Bordeaux as a key southern capital of the vast Angevin holdings. Henry was responsible for construction of almost all of the massive chateau, built over 1,300 feet long and 250 feet wide with a clock tower (14th century) rising 115 feet high. King Henry, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their son King Richard the Lionheart were all buried at nearby Fontevraud Abbey.

The castle is divided, along its length, into three enclosures, each separated by a deep dry moat. The easternmost is known as Fort St.-Georges, the central called the Château de Milieu, while the westernmost is known as the Fort du Coudray. In the early 13th century, following the Capetian annexation of Anjou, a cylindrical keep similar to those at Rouen and Paris, was added by Phillip II Augustus, King of France to the entrance of the Fort du Coudray.

In the keep or donjon, called the Tour de Coudray, Templar knights were imprisoned during the brutal suppression of the Templar Order that occurred in 1307.

The chateau was a residence of Charles VII, the dauphin of France in the early 15th century. It is the place where Joan of Arc came on March 8, 1429 to recognize the dauphin and to urge him to declare himself king and raise an army to liberate France from the English.

In 1562 the chateau came into the possession of the Huguenots and was turned into a state prison by Henri IV of France. After that it was abandoned until 1793 when, during the Reign of Terror, the castle was temporarily occupied by Vendeans. Soon though, it was left to decay until Emperor Napoleon III began a partial effort at restoration. Today, it is managed by the Town of Chinon and is a major tourist attraction.

[edit] Wine

In recent years, its wines have come to be recognized as some of the best produced in France. Carved into the banks of the Vienne river, and open to public visits, are the caves, or wine cellars, for Chinon's famous Cabernet Franc-based red wines.