The Tour Mélusine is the keep

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

 of a former castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 in the commune of Vouvant

Vouvant

Vouvant is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.Vouvant is labelled as "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France".Its inhabitants are called Vouvantais....

 in the département of Vendée

Vendée

The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...

 in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

History

The 15th century watch tower is all that remains of the ancient castle of the Lords of Lusignan, dating from 1242. There is evidence of the early 13th century enceinte

Enceinte

Enceinte , is a French term used technically in fortification for the inner ring of fortifications surrounding a town or a concentric castle....

. The view from the summit is superb.

Like all of the Lusignan's castles, legend holds that it was built in a single night by the fairy Melusine

Melusine

Melusine is a figure of European legends and folklore, a feminine spirit of fresh waters in sacred springs and rivers.She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down...

 "de trois dornées de pierres et d'une goulée d'Eve".

The tower has been classed as a monument historique

Monument historique

A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...

by the French Ministry of Culture since 1927.

External links

Ministry of Culture listing for Tour Mélusine

• Ministry of Culture photos