Saumur Castle: Distant view, with French soldier posed in foreground

Before restoration of the pointed towers of the castle. The area is noted for its equestrian academy.\u000a\u000aOriginally constructed in the 10th century by Theobald I, Count of Blois, as a fortified stronghold against Norman predations. It overlooks the confluence of the Loire and the Thouet. In 1026 it came into the hands of Fulk Nerra, count of Anjou. Following its destruction in 1067, the ch\u00E2teau was rebuilt by Henry II of England in the later 12th century. The page for September in the Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry depicts the Chateau as it looked in 1410. It changed hands several times until 1589 when the Protestant King Henri IV (of France and Navarre) gave the castle to Duplessis-Mornay. Listed as an historic monument since 1862.