Thouars

Thouars grew on a rocky promontory within a bend of the Thouet in northern Poitou. Its naturally defensible site became the seat of a powerful line of viscounts, while markets and fairs helped the walled town grow.

In 1372, during the Hundred Years' War, Bertrand du Guesclin recovered Thouars from the English. The viscounty later passed to the La Trémoille family, and in 1563 Thouars became a duchy. From 1635 Marie de la Tour d'Auvergne, duchess of La Trémoille, replaced the old castle with a grand residence designed by Jacques Lemercier. It was plundered during the French Revolution and became national property; the town bought the building and its dependencies in 1833.