Loches

Loches stands on the Indre in Touraine beneath a fortified height. Its castle served as a French royal residence for much of the later Middle Ages and sixteenth century. In May 1429 Joan of Arc came to the royal lodge to meet Charles VII after the relief of Orléans. The collegiate church of Saint-Ours contains the tomb of Agnès Sorel, associated with Charles's court. The fortress also served as a prison: Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, died in confinement there in 1508. Below the castle, the town acquired a Renaissance town hall after royal approval in 1515. Its walls, church and royal buildings show how a local centre on the Indre was connected to the politics and institutions of the French monarchy.