Le Relais Louis XI

Before becoming a staging post for King Louis XI, this was a strategic site, fortified by the English in the 14th and 15th centuries during the Hundred Years War. It was probably also used by Jean le Bon (14th century) during his stay in Meung-sur-Loire while heading to Poitiers.On June 15, 1429, Joan of Arc and her knights occupied it to cut off the English between Beaugency and Orléans. Only ruins remain of the bridge where the battle was fought...

Fifty years later, Louis XI established his private stables here, with stalls for his horses, reserves of hay, accommodation for his horsemen, guards, and blacksmith. He once spent a night here himself. He liked the region, and often prayed in the basilica of Cléry Saint-André, where he was buried in 1483.

As it gained prosperity during his reign, the Relais kept the name of the King. In 1604, under Henry IV, it ceased to be a royal stud farm.