Chinon

Chinon is a town in La Vallée de la Vienne, France, with a population (2001) of approximately 10,000. It is situated on the banks of the river Vienne in the Indre-et-Loire départment of France.

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Sitting high on a plateau, a huge castle dominates the entire town. The Chateau Chinon started as a fortified stronghold for Theobald I, Comte de Blois in the year 954. In the 12th century, when that part of France was under English rule, Chinon was the residence of King Henry II (Plantagenet) of England and he is responsible for construction of most all of the massive chateau. Over 1,300 feet long and 250 feet wide, the chateau's clock tower rises 115 feet high. King Henry, his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their son King Richard the Lionheart were all buried at nearby Fontevrault Abbey.

The chateau was the residence of Charles VII, the dauphin of France in the early 15th century. It is the place where the legendary Joan of Arc came on March 8, 1429 to recognize the dauphin and to urge him to declare himself king and raise an army to liberate France from the English.