Saumur
Good King Renes Castle of Love
Saumur has always been an important crossing over the River Loire and at one time was the only one between Tours and Angers. The original bridge was a wooden structure but the number of pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela made the construction of a stone bridge a viable proposition.
Monks from the Abbaye de St-Florent just outside town built the new stone one at the rate of one arch per year and this established Saumur as one of the main routes south.
The Renaissance Château standing proudly above the City overlooking the Loire was rebuilt on the foundations of a Medieval fortress at the end of the Hundred Years War as Good King Rene’s ‘Castle of Love’. However, it had to be hastily re-fortified during the Wars of Religion at the end of the 16th century because Saumur was a centre of Protestantism and needed to defend itself!
Saumur is also well known for its association with the training of military horse regiments. There is a museum and the National Riding School, home of the Cadre Noir display unit, is famous for its displays.
Check out the Military Museums also - see Practical Information below.