Gien

Gien stands beside the Loire, its château overlooking the town and the bridge across the river. In 1481 Louis XI granted the county of Gien to his daughter Anne of France. She and her husband Pierre de Beaujeu began rebuilding the old fortress the following year, incorporating earlier defences into a more decorative residence. Its patterned red and black brickwork and dressed stone mark an early chapter in the architecture of the Loire châteaux.