Château de Vitré The Château de Vitré is a medieval castle in the town of Vitré , in the Ille - et - Vilaine département of France . The first castle in Vitré was built of wood on a feudal motte around the year 1000 on the Sainte - Croix hill . The castle was burned down on several occasions , and eventually was bequeathed to the Benedictine monks of Marmoutier Abbey . The first stone castle was built by the baron Robert I of Vitré at the end of the 11th century . The defensive site chosen , a rocky promontory , dominated the valley of the Vilaine . A Romanesque style doorway still survives from this building . During the first half of the 13th century , baron André III , rebuilt it in its present triangular form , following the contours of the rocks , surrounded with dry moats . At his death , the land fell to the family of the Counts of Laval . Guy XII de Laval enlarged the castle in the 15th century . During this period , the final defensive works were realised , notably the gatehouse with double drawbridge , " tour Saint - Laurent " ( St Laurent Tower , the main keep later pierced with cannon apertures ) and " tour de la Madeleine " ( Magdalene Tower ) . Nevertheless , in 1487 , Guy XV de Laval opened the castle to French troops without a fight . From the end of the 15th century , alterations concentrated on improving the comfort of the castle , including the construction of galleries and a renaissance style oratory ( 1530 ) . The Parlement of Brittany took refuge in the castle three times ( in 1564 , 1582 and 1583 ) , while plague raged in Rennes . Under the Rieux and Cologny families , owners of the castle between 1547 and 1605 , Vitré sheltered Protestants and became for some years a Huguenot stronghold . In 1589 , the castle resisted a five - month siege by the Duc de Mercœur . In 1605 , the castle became the property of the Trémoille family , originally from Poitou . The castle was abandoned in the 17th century and began to decline , notably with the partial collapse of the St Laurent Tower and the accidental fire which destroyed the feudal residence at the end of the 18th century . A départemental prison was built in place of the residence and occupied the northern part of the castle , including the Magdalene Tower . The prison became a barracks with the arrival of the 70th infantry regiment between 1876 and 1877 . The castle was bought by the town in the 1820 for 8500 francs . In 1872 , it was one of the first castles in France to be classified as a " monument historique " ( historic monument ) and restored from 1875 under the direction of the architect Darcy . Placed in the public domain , the castle was furnished with a small museum , in 1876 , inspired by Arthur de la Borderie . Paradoxically , he destroyed the " collégiale de la Madeleine " ( collegiate church of the Madeleine ) in the castle courtyard while he was in charge of conservation for the town . A boys ' school was built in its place . Today , the Vitré town hall stands inside the curtain wall , in a building reconstructed in 1912 following the plans of the medieval residence . The Place du Château , outside the castle , used to be the castle forecourt where stables and outbuildings were . It is now a car park that will be revamped in 2007 to properly show off one of the most imposing castles in France .