Chateaux of Normandy
Château de Caen
The Norman Château de Caen was built in c. 1060 by William the Conqueror, who successfully conquered England in 1066. His son Henry I then built the Saint Georges church, a keep (1123) and a large hall for the Duke Court. At Christmas 1182, a royal court celebration for Christmas in the aula of Caen Castle brought together Henry II and his sons, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland, receiving more than a thousand ...
Founded: c. 1060 |
Location:
Caen, France
Château d'Eu
The Château d"Eu is a former royal residence built in the 16th century to replace an earlier one purposely demolished in 1475 to prevent its capture by the English. The chapel contains the tombs of Henry I, Duke of Guise, and his wife, Catherine de Clèves, who embarked on the construction of the château in 1578. The building was completed almost a century later by the Anne Marie Louise d"Orl&e ...
Founded: 1578 |
Location:
Eu, France
Château de Dieppe
Château de Dieppe was founded in 1188 and destroyed in 1195. The site was restored in the 14th century. The castle was largely reconstructed by Charles des Marets in 1433. The castle is composed of a quadrangular enclosure with round flanking towers and a lower court adjacent. The large west tower dates perhaps from the 14th century, and served as the keep. Several architectural styles are represented, and flint and ...
Founded: 1188 |
Location:
Dieppe, France
Château de Rouen
Château de Rouen was a castle built by Philip II of France from 1204 to 1210 following his capture of the duchy from John, duke of Normandy and king of England. Located outside the medieval town to its north, in a dominant position, it played a military role in the Hundred Years" War and the Wars of Religion. It was the main seat of power, administration and politics in the duchy of Normandy for nearly 400 year ...
Founded: 1204-1210 |
Location:
Rouen, France
Château Gaillard
Château Gaillard is a ruined medieval castle, located 90 m above the commune of Les Andelys overlooking the River Seine. The construction began in 1196 under the order of Richard the Lionheart, who was simultaneously King of England and feudal Duke of Normandy. The castle was expensive to build, but the majority of the work was done in an unusually short time. It took just two years, and at the same time the town of ...
Founded: 1196 |
Location:
Les Andelys, France
Château de Falaise
Château de Falaise is best known as a castle, where William the Conqueror, the son of Duke Robert of Normandy, was born in about 1028. William went on to conquer England and become king and possession of the castle descended through his heirs until the 13th century when it was captured by King Philip II of France. Possession of the castle changed hands several times during the Hundred Years" War. The castle was ...
Founded: 1123 |
Location:
Falaise, France
Château de Fécamp
Château de Fécamp originates from the 10th century and the stone castle was built in the 11th century. It was the residence of the first dukes of Normandy. perhaps as early as William Longsword and probably with his successors Richard I and Richard II, who are buried to the near Fécamp Abbey. The castle was damaged in the 19th century during the construction work of raiway.
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Fécamp, France
Château de Vascoeuil
Château de Vascoeuil is a beautiful 15th century castle with a museum and sculpture park in the gardens. A noble house built after the Hundred Years War, the château hosts the museum of Jules Michelet, dedicated to the famous French historian, in one of its outbuildings. Wander around the grounds of the estate, through the typically French gardens, to uncover the sculptures that have been placed amongst the be ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Vascœuil, France
Château d'Harcourt
Château d'Harcourt is a masterpiece of medieval architecture. The home of the Harcourt family, the castle is one of the best preserved castles in the country and contains the oldest arboretum in France. Although the lords of Harcourt trace their origins to the year 1000, the first written record of the castle dates from the second half of 12th century. Robert II d"Harcourt was a companion in the crusade of Richard Lionhe ...
Founded: 12th century |
Location:
Harcourt, France
Château des Tourelles
The Château des Tourelles was built originally in 1196, when Philippe Auguste (Philip II of France), fighting against the king of England, Richard the Lionheart, for possession of Normandy, seized Vernon and made the town a military base. The castle consists of a square tower surounded by four round turrets, the whole edifice rising to a height of twenty metres. It is one of the few castles in France which has been pract ...
Founded: 1196 |
Location:
Vernon, France
Tour des Archives
The Tour des Archives is the keep of a former castle. Its origin goes back to 1123, built by King Henry I of England, the son of William the Conqueror. It is 22m high and is a rare existing example of a round tower in Normandy, like the so-called tour Jeanne d"Arc (Joan of Arc Tower) of the former Rouen Castle. The Tour des Archives has been classified since 1840 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Cul ...
Founded: 1123 |
Location:
Vernon, France
Château du Neubourg
Château du Neubourg dates from the 12th century, when it was owned by Henry I, the King of England. The castle lost its military role in the 17th century. In 1782-1783 the eastern parts were demolished.
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Le Neubourg, France
Château de Martainville
Château de Martainville was built in the 15th and 16th centuries. It houses a fantastic exhibit of everyday life items in Normandy, from 16th to 19th centuries. Furniture, chinaware, kitchen equipment, dairy implements are all displayed according to their geographic origin from the Pays de Bray, the Pays de Caux, and the coast. The top floor of the castle is devoted to Norman costumes.
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Martainville-Épreville, France
Château de Saint-Germain-de-Livet
The famous chateau at Saint-Germain-de-Livet, now open to the public, was built by the Tournebu (later Tournebu-de-Livet) family between 1561 and 1578. Fine group of buildings are typical in the Pays d"Auge, reuniting a timber-framed manor from the second half of the 15th Century and a 16th century residence in glazed brick and stone, a corner tower, moat and lake. The interior is fully furnished. Today the chateau i ...
Founded: 1561-1578 |
Location:
Saint-Germain-de-Livet, France
Château de Canon
The history of Château de Canon originates from The Middle Ages, when it was owned by Franqueville (15th century), Sarcilly (16th century) and Bérenger families. In 1727 Robert Bérenger sold the castle to de la Rocque, who build a new castle, pond and garden. Today it is a 20ha estate, perfectly preserved from the 18th century. There is a French-English style park with period decorations like marble st ...
Founded: 1727 |
Location:
Mézidon-Canon, France
Château d'Acquigny
Acquigny sits at the confluence of two rivers: the Eure, formerly navigable to Chartres, and the Iton. The two rivers were dammed and redirected during the twelfth century by the monks of Conches-en-Ouche to power mills in the region. These newly created branches also fed into the castle"s moats protecting the Saint-mals monastery and the medieval village located directly behind the current castle. During the Hundre ...
Founded: 1557 |
Location:
Acquigny, France
Château de Gisors
The Château de Gisors was a key fortress of the Dukes of Normandy in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was intended to defend the Anglo-Norman Vexin territory from the pretensions of the King of France. King William II of England ordered Robert of Bellême to build the first castle at Gisors. The first building work is dated to about 1095, and consisted of a motte, which was enclosed in a spacious courtyard or ba ...
Founded: 1095 |
Location:
Gisors, France
Manoir de Vauville
The manor of Vauville was originally built as a fortress in 1163 by Richard de Vauville who participated in the Conquest of England with William the Conqueror. The current château was built in the 1650s. It has been in the same family since 1890. The garden was created in the moat in 1947 by the parents of the present owners, who had a particular interest in exotic plants. Since 1980 the garden has grown from two to ...
Founded: 17th century |
Location:
Vauville, France
Château de Creully
Château de Creully has been modified throughout its history. Around 1050, it did not resemble a defensive fortress but a large agricultural domain. In about 1360, during the Hundred Years War, it was modified into a fortress. During this period, its architecture was demolished and reconstructed with each occupation by the English and the French: The square tower was built in the 14th century, a watchtower and drawbr ...
Founded: c. 1360 |
Location:
Creully, France
Château de Bricquebec
According the tradition the first castle in Bricquebec was built by Anslec with Scandinavian origin, who was related to the Duke of Normandy, William Longsword. Later Bricquebec Castle was owned by Robert I Bertran, who accompanied William the Conqueror in the conquest of England in 1066. His son, Robert II Bertran, is believed to have taken part in the taking of Jerusalem during the First Crusade in 1096. After the annex ...
Founded: 11th century |
Location:
Bricquebec, France