Tour de Nesle

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The Tour de Nesle (French pronunciation: [tuʁ də nɛl]) was one of the four large guard towers on the old city wall of Paris, constructed at the beginning of the 13th century by Philip II of France and demolished in 1665. The tower was situated on the left (south) bank of the Seine facing the old castle of the Louvre on the opposite bank. Originally known as the Tour Hamelin, it was a cylindrical structure of approximately 10 metres in diameter. The height was around 25 metres, with a stair turret reaching higher still. Later, the tower was incorporated into the Hôtel de Nesle, a medieval mansion. On the right bank of the Seine river was a similar tall tower: the Tour du Coin (corner tower). The towers protected the upstream approach to the Île de la Cité. In 1308, Philip IV bought the tower from Amaury de Nesle. In 1314, a scandal known as the Tour de Nesle affair implicated the daughters-in-law of Philip IV, who were accused of adultery. Many of the alleged liaisons were said to have occurred in the Tour de Nesle. The scandal led to torture and execution for the princesses' lovers and the imprisonment of the princesses, with lasting consequences for the final years of the House of Capet. In 1319, Philip V donated the building to his Queen Jeanne de Bourgogne (the one accused who was found innocent) and she, in her will, left it for the College of Burgundy, which she founded for the University of Paris. Demolished in 1665, mansion and tower became the place of the Collège des Quatre-Nations (later occupied by the Institut de France) with the Bibliothèque Mazarine.