Visit: the park of the Royal Fortress of Chinon transformed into a white mulberry nursery in the nineteenth century.
Discover a little-known layout of the site related to the renewal of the silk industry in Touraine.
The landscape park is classified as Historical Monuments as the whole of the Fortress. His visit is therefore an unexpected discovery of part of the collections of the Royal Fortress of Chinon.
Today, this park is far from similar to that of the Middle Ages. At this time, it is necessary to imagine a densely built space where buildings and inner courtyards dominate.
From the second half of the eighteenth century, the park and the Fortress are in complete state of abandonment, the esplanade is entirely bare and the administration of the domains rents it to individuals as land of culture. In the nineteenth century, promenade parks that combine romantic ruins and exotic species are fashionable. In 1824, the sub-prefect of Chinon cleared the courtyard of the Fortress and built «a beautiful walk to appreciate the ruins», embellished with a nursery of several hundred mulberry trees. He also planted various species that he discovered during his travels.
Chinon Fortress Park is home to a venerable Sophora japonica (Styphnolobium japonicum). The association A.R.B.R.E.S awarded him the label Arbre remarquable de France in 2023.