Medieval Louvre Castle

The Louvre Castle (Château du Louvre), also referred to as the Medieval Louvre (Louvre médiéval), was a castle (château fort) built by Philip II of France on the right bank of the Seine, to reinforce the city wall he had built around Paris. It was demolished in stages between 1528 and 1660 to make way for the expanded Louvre Palace. The medieval complex was generally referred to simply as the Louvre (le Louvre), as its modern successor still is. It was also qualified in medieval times as a fortress (forteresse du Louvre], royal abode (demeure royale du Louvre), or mansion (hostel du Louvre or manoir du Louvre). Conversely, the Louvre Palace was still referred to as a castle (château du Louvre) in the mid-18th century if not later. Therefore, the distinction between a Louvre "castle" in the Middle Ages and "palace" in the modern era is no more than a recent usage. Wall of Philip II Augustus Before his departure for the Third Crusade in 1190, King Philip II wanted to protect his capital Paris against invasions, especially from English-held Normandy less than 100 km away, with memories still lingering of the Viking siege of Paris in 845. He ordered the construction of a new city wall, known since as the Wall of Philip II Augustus, which was started in 1190 on the right bank. The fortress was nearly squared in plan (78 m by 72 m), surrounded by a 10 m wide moat filled with water from the nearby Seine river. It was reinforced by ten defensive towers, on the corners and at the middle of each side, with twin towers defending narrow gates on the southern and eastern sides, protected by drawbridges. Two additional buildings housing the garrisons and the arsenals were located outside of the surrounding wall, to the west and south of the central courtyard, respectively. A keep named the "big tower" (Grosse Tour du Louvre) was built around 1200 in the center of the courtyard. It was a circular structure with a diameter of 15.6 m and 30 m tall, with walls 4.25 m thick at the base. It was surrounded by a ditch, 9 m wide and 6 m deep.