Le Rivau Castle Architecture

The Rivau stands out among other Loire Valley castles as it is one of the few to combine the rough and authentic architecture of a fortress with the refined ornamentation of a castle owned by powerful medieval lords, close to the King of France. The Chateau du Rivau is built upon a square scheme with round towers at each angle and dry moats dug into freestone. This scheme is very typical of the 14th century and was thus deeply redesigned through the 15th and 16th centuries.

Two round towers protect the entrance of the castle. A stone slope on the bottom of each tower was built to help reinforce them and protect them against armed attacks which could have weakened the castle’s planting. Fine loopholes were made higher in the same tower; they would allow archers to snipe all around them with no dead angle. Round towers were preferred to square ones at the end of the 13th century due to their protective characteristics.

Once you will have stepped past the drawbridge you will arrive to a closed paved courtyard. This is the lords apartments which used to be made of four distinct parts. The fourth side _which is now a planted checkerboard_ was destroyed during the 16th century. During the 19th century, a chapel which stood on the far south side of the building was also destroyed.