Saint-Malo’s castle

Check out this castle overlooking the ocean! What makes it stand out is that it was built in several stages under various governors, yet always with the same goal : ensuring the guardianship of the Dukes of Brittany over the city of Saint-Malo. Saint-Malo had been ceded by the Duke of Brittany to the King of France in 1395, but ultimately returned by the King of France to the new Duke of Brittany Jean V. If you’re wondering why the King would just give away land, well, it turns out that the Duke in question had just married his daughter. Keep it in the family, right? Jean V,, began building a fortress, starting with the Great Keep that leans on the ramparts. Then Francis II came along and added the General Tower – shorter, but way more massive. And then comes his daughter, Anne of Brittany, who would become queen of France twice to ensure peace between the Duchy of Brittany and the Kingdom of France! She mainly adds the “Quic en Groigne tower”. You’ll have a better view from the ramparts later. ‘Quic en Groigne’ means ‘whoever grumbles about it’ so it shall be, that’s my pleasure.” The inscription was engraved on the tower in response to the Malouins who strongly opposed its construction! Indeed, they felt watched by the authorities and didn’t want, absolutely didn’t want, to depend on the Duchy of Brittany or France for that matter. They were wary, but not paranoid, since cannons were aimed towards the city rather than the horizon, with a very clear and unequivocal message from the Duchy, keeping an eye on them and mistrusting the rebellious Malouins.” This all didn’t keep them from storming the castle in 1590, to stop the governor from handing over this Catholic city, to the Protestant King Henri IV. The governor was killed in the process! Fast forward to the French Revolution, where the residents took over the castle once more. Then, in the 19th century, it became military barracks until 1921. Finally the city bought it and turned it into offices and a museum a few years later. It was strongly damaged in 1944 during the liberation of Saint-Malo, but was fully restored after that. In 2019 the museum was definetly closed and will be replaced by a new maritime museum , set to open in 2025. Until then, we’ll have to settle for admiring the castle from the outside. Paid tours with official guides, are sometimes available in the summer. They allow visitors to discover sectors of the ramparts owned by the city hall, which are usually not open to the public. Until then, let’s move on to see the birth house of Chateaubriand !