Chateaux of Hauts-de-France
Château de Liettres
Château de Liettres was probably built some years before 1479 by Sir Simon de Luxembourg, provost of the church of Saint-Omer. In that year it was burned by the progressing army of Maximilian I of Austria. In 1542 Liettres Castle was again burned and partly destroyed by the troops of the Duke of Vendome. Shortly thereafter the castle was bought by Jean de Zomberghe after which it remained in the hands of his descendants ...Château de Couin
Château de Couin was built between 1745 and 1749 by the Landas family. It was designed by the architect d"Huez. The next owner, the Louvencourt family, continued the work in the 19th century. During the First World War the castle was a headquarters of British army medical care. Today Château de Couin is a hotel.Château de Goeulzin
Château de Goeulzin dates originally from the late 1200s. It was severely damaged in 1521 and 1582 in the wars. The reconstruction took place in 1576 and it was moved as a mansion in the early 1600s. The chateau was looted and destroyed by German troops in the World War I. It has been in ruins since theFeatured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Monte d'Accoddi
Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.
The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.
The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.
Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.
The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.
The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.