Located between the border between Normandy and Brittany, Mayenne takes during the disintegration of the Carolingian empire a major importance which is concretized by the early construction (around 900) of a stone castle; it develops in the thirteenth century in a "lower courtyard" flanked by 12 towers and a fortified "high court" comprising a circular keep and a main building. Built from the 15th century according to the new needs of the artillery, the whole is backfilled in terrace and the towers partially arased in the 17th century. An interesting specimen of 13th-century military and residential architecture, Mayenne appears above all as a major archaeological site, with the recent discovery of the Carolingian building partially elevated in the high courtyard; a site museum (crypt) presents these different aspects. M.O. Mandy (2002). It is only in 1993 that renovation works bring out arcades of Carolingian bricks and finally lift the veil on the mystery of the origins of the Castle

Château, hôtel urbain, palais, manoir, Monument historique, Musée de France, Édifice militaire, enceinte urbaine, Musée, salle d'exposition, Tourisme et handicap