Donjon Beaugency

The Donjon Beaugency (residential tower) dates from the 11th century and is about 36 meters high. The rectangular fortress, structured by pilaster strips, was originally – for better defense – surrounded by an earth embankment up to a height of six meters and protected by a double curtain wall. The defensive and residential tower, also known as Tour de César, was extended by two floors in the 13th or 14th century. As late as the 16th century, the tower was inhabited and received a multitude of Renaissance-style windows (rectangular windows with mullions); shortly thereafter (1567), it was set on fire by the Protestants. In 1840, the ceilings and vaults inside the tower collapsed. It is one of the few largely preserved examples of its kind in France; the others are in Loches, Pons, and Niort.