Le château des ducs de Bourbon est un ancien château fort du XIIIe siècle, qui se dresse sur le territoire de la commune française de Montluçon dans le département de l'Allier, en région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. L'édifice est inscrit au titre des monuments historiques.
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The Château of the Dukes of Bourbon is a castle in Montluçon, France, largely built by the Dukes of Bourbon.
In 1070, Guillaume, son of Archambaud IV of Bourbon became Seigneur of Montluçon and built a fortress on a castrum.
The English occupied the Castle of Montluçon from 1171 to 1188. After that invasion, Philip Augustus handed it over to the Bourbon family. The latter transformed it into a stronghold.
The remainder of the castle was built starting from 1370, at the heart of the Hundred Years' War, by Louis II, Duke of Bourbon.
The edifice was surrounded by a double row of ramparts, was drilled by four doors and counted forty-one watchtowers. During the unification of the Bourbonnais to the crown of France, during the reign of Francis I, the castle was abandoned. Louis II Duke of Bourbon, was the main contributor to the construction of the castle. It was started during the Hundred Years' War, but people still worked on it on the eve of the Renaissance. In the first half of the 14th century, Louis II, Duke of Bourbon and his successors raised the big abode, more or less such as it is today. The square tower, the opening of the East facade, the North wing and the Clock Tower are dated from the middle of the 15th century and belong to three construction campaigns, the two first ones being very close to each other. Finally, during the last half of the 15th century, the gallery was raised on the court, and the North inside was embellished.
These varied constructions, even though quite modern, enable us to follow the well-known evolution that was produced in the French military architecture during the 15th century. Louis II came up with the idea of a real fortified castle that he couldn’t achieve, and which was embellished by his successors, with a gallery, an elegant turret and wide openings, became a place of pleasure for the last Dukes of Bourbon.
It has been abandoned since 1527.
After 1662, the princes of Condé, became lords tenants of crown lands of the Bourbonnais, conceded the castle to a farmer and they became totally disinterested by it. This one is in a very poor shape according to Nicolas de Nicolay who observed that "without really taking care of the roof the castle fell in ruins", which was a "big shame".
During the Revolution, only the coats of arms of the Dukes of Bourbon were destroyed from the Clock Tower. Then the police court, took its place in one of the rooms of the castle which, because of its size, served also as a place of meeting for the General Assembly of the inhabitants.
The city of Montluçon bought the castle from Louis Joseph on 8 April 1816 in order to do an infantry barracks. From that moment, the most deplorable demolitions happened.
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Montluçon is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as Montluçonnais. The town is in the traditional province of Bourbonnais and was part of the mediaeval duchy of Bourbon.
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The canton of Montluçon-Ouest is a former administrative division in central France. It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. It had 13,736 inhabitants.
The canton comprised the following communes:
Lamaids
Montluçon
Prémilhat
Quinssaines
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The canton of Montluçon-Sud is a former administrative division in central France. It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. It had 15,789 inhabitants.
The canton comprised the following communes:
Lavault-Sainte-Anne
Lignerolles
Montluçon
Néris-les-Bains
Teillet-Argenty
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The canton of Montluçon-Est is a former administrative division in central France. It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. It had 13,863 inhabitants.
The canton comprised the following communes:
Chamblet
Deneuille-les-Mines
Désertines
Montluçon
Saint-Angel
Verneix
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