Palais ducal de Nevers, Renaissance castle on Loire hill in Nevers, France.
Palais ducal de Nevers is a Renaissance structure featuring distinctive polygon turrets and positioned on a hilltop overlooking the old town. The building combines refined stonework with fortification elements typical of its period.
Built for John of Clamecy, Count of Nevers, on the site of his old fortress, the palace dates from the 15th and 16th centuries; its two rear towers are the oldest part. The Clèves family remodelled it in the 16th century, adding the grand staircase in the central turret. In 1810 the heir of the last duke sold it to the town and department, and from 1850 it served as law courts until restoration in the 1980s.
The palace now houses the town hall, part of the tourist office and exhibition and reception rooms. A permanent exhibition covers the city's history and its trades, notably earthenware (faïence) and Formula One motor racing, and an aquarium holds Loire fish. The building is also used for official ceremonies.
The entrance faces the valley side, and an underground museum section displays artifacts spanning the city's history across multiple periods. Comfortable shoes are helpful since pathways on and around the grounds involve some steep sections.
Excavations during the 1980s restoration, mainly in 1988, brought up many artillery pieces. The finest is a 14th-century veuglaire powder chamber, kept since at the municipal archaeological depot of Nevers and described in the sources as without equal in France.
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