Château de Blain

The Château de Blain or Château de la Groulais, is a mediaeval castle constructed in the 13th century and heavily remodelled in the 16th, located in the commune of Blain in the Loire-Atlantique département of France.

[1] It formed part of the frontier defences of Brittany along with the towns and castles of Vitré, Fougères, Châteaubriant, Ancenis and Clisson.

In 1628, Henri II, Duke of Rohan, having become the leader of the Protestant princes, Cardinal Richelieu ordered that the castle be dismantled resulting in the loss of its military role.

Along with the Constable's Tower (tour du Connétable), the two towers in the south east and the monumental entrance on the south façade of the logis du Roi, they date from before the 17th century.

Together with the remains of the towers and the fortifications linking them, they have been classified as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.