Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil
| Château of Ainay-le-Vieil | |
|---|---|
| Cher, Centre-Val de Loire Near Ainay-le-Vieil in France | |
Aerial view of the Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Château |
| Operator | Monument historique (1968, 1998) Registered monument (1993) |
| Website | chateau-ainaylevieil |
| Location | |
Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil Location in France | |
| Coordinates | 46°40′5.5″N 2°32′59″E / 46.668194°N 2.54972°E |
Château d'Ainay-le-Vieil is a 14th-century castle built on the grounds of an earlier 12th-century castle in Ainay-le-Vieil, Cher, France. After having bought the castle from Jacques Cœur, Charles de Bigny built a pre-Renaissance Louis XII-style chateaux from 1500 to 1505. The castle has been listed as a Monument historique since 1968 by the French Ministry of Culture. The castle, now part of Jacques Cœur's tourist route, has been nicknamed "the little Carcassonne" (French: le petit Carcassonne) because of its circular shape. Today the castle is one of the best-preserved fortresses of the 14th century.