Boucard Castle

In the 14th century, Jean de Boucart, a Gascon nobleman, married Agnès de Blancafort and settled in Berry. However, it was one of his successors, Lancelot de Boucart, who rebuilt the Château de Boucard on the site of La Motte-du-Plessis. The château retains a medieval character: four main buildings flanked by round towers and separated by moats connected to the river. The picturesque gatehouse with its corbelled turrets is particularly noteworthy. In the inner courtyard, the Middle Ages give way to the Renaissance. This is evident first in the south wing, whose pre-Renaissance window sculptures bear witness to Antoine de Boucard's time in Italy alongside Francis I. The north wing, on the other hand, is in the purest Renaissance style; noteworthy is the magnificent sculpted frieze depicting cannonballs and cannons, attributes of François de Boucard, Grand Master of Artillery to the Prince of Condé.