Châteaudun: One of France's First Pleasure Châteaux, Its Sainte-Chapelle and the Foulon Caves
Centre-Val de Loire, France
Badge Unlock
Dunois Squire
Complete this challenge to add this badge to your collection.
225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
Châteaudun: One of France's First Pleasure Châteaux, Its Sainte-Chapelle and the Foulon Caves
225 + 100 XP
The château of Châteaudun, on a spur above the Loir, stacks up four hundred years: the keep of about 1180 by Thibaut V, count of Blois, with walls four metres thick; the Gothic Dunois wing of 1459 to 1468, built for Jean de Dunois, bastard of Orléans and companion of Joan of Arc, with a great Gothic stair after the model of Charles V's newel at the Louvre; and the Longueville wing in the Louis XII style that carries the building over into the First Renaissance. Its chapel, built in stages between 1451 and 1493, is one of only eleven saintes chapelles raised by the kings and royal princes of France, and its lower chapel holds some fifteen statues of the saints Dunois's family revered, carved by Loire workshops in the 15th century, with Paul Goybault's Last Judgement of 1467 painted on the wall of the south oratory. Below the town, the Grottes du Foulon open more than 10,000 m² of galleries lined with quartz and chalcedony geodes.
Required Activities
1
of 5
In the lower chapel, work along the fifteen or so statues of the saints Dunois and his family prayed to, all cut by Loire workshops in the 15th century, and pick the two you cannot identify. Then go into the south oratory and find Paul Goybault's Last Judgement of 1467 on its wall
2
of 5
Climb the great Gothic stair through all five floors of the Dunois wing, then find the courtroom of the Ancien Régime kept exactly as it was — very few of them survive anywhere — and work out from the furniture who sat where
3
of 5
On the guided tour of the Grottes du Foulon, find a quartz geode and a chalcedony one and work out which is which by colour, then wait for the full illumination at the end of the visit and see how much of the roof shape was cut by running water rather than by anyone with a pick
4
of 5
In the keep of about 1180, find the shaft that was the only way down to the ground-floor store, then look for the original doorway ten metres up the wall — it now opens into the roof space of the chapel, which was built against the keep three centuries later
5
of 5
On the Longueville wing, find the Renaissance stair whose window openings make an open loggia, and look at where it stops: the dormers and balustrade at the top were pulled down in 1770 and only partly put back, and with them went the lead cresting and the Mélusine figures that stood for the family's claimed Lusignan descent
In the lower chapel, work along the fifteen or so statues of the saints Dunois and his family prayed to, all cut by Loire workshops in the 15th century, and pick the two you cannot identify. Then go into the south oratory and find Paul Goybault's Last Judgement of 1467 on its wall
Climb the great Gothic stair through all five floors of the Dunois wing, then find the courtroom of the Ancien Régime kept exactly as it was — very few of them survive anywhere — and work out from the furniture who sat where
On the guided tour of the Grottes du Foulon, find a quartz geode and a chalcedony one and work out which is which by colour, then wait for the full illumination at the end of the visit and see how much of the roof shape was cut by running water rather than by anyone with a pick
In the keep of about 1180, find the shaft that was the only way down to the ground-floor store, then look for the original doorway ten metres up the wall — it now opens into the roof space of the chapel, which was built against the keep three centuries later
On the Longueville wing, find the Renaissance stair whose window openings make an open loggia, and look at where it stops: the dormers and balustrade at the top were pulled down in 1770 and only partly put back, and with them went the lead cresting and the Mélusine figures that stood for the family's claimed Lusignan descent
Before you go
The Grottes du Foulon are seen on a guided tour only, an hour long, with a minimum of two adults and departures at fixed times, the last of them an hour before closing; adults 11 euros, children 3 to 10 six euros, and they open on public holidays except 25 December and 1 January. Days and hours change through the year, so check before turning up, and take a jacket: the galleries are cold all year. The château is a separate paid national monument with its own hours, and the keep and stairs mean a lot of steps.
Finding nearby campsites...
About Centre-Val de Loire
Loading region info…
Explore more about Centre-Val de Loire:
Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
More challenges nearby
within 100km
Vendôme: The Flamboyant Façade of the Trinité and Its Romanesque Bell Tower
France · Centre-Val de Loire
history
easy
1d
36 km away
Meung-sur-Loire, Cléry and Beaugency: Villon's Prison and the Tomb of Louis XI
France · Centre-Val de Loire
history
easy
1d
39 km away
Chartres: The Blue Glass of Notre-Dame, the Labyrinth and the Maison Picassiette
France · Centre-Val de Loire
cultural
easy
1d
44 km away
Nogent-le-Rotrou: The Counts' Castle of the Perche and Sully's Tomb
France · Centre-Val de Loire
history
easy
1d
46 km away
Orléans: Joan of Arc's City, from the Cathedral Windows to Her House
France · Centre-Val de Loire
history
easy
1d
48 km away
La Ferté-Bernard: The Venice of the West
France · Pays de la Loire
cultural
easy
1d
51 km away