Château de Pouancé, Ombrée d'Anjou, France

The medieval castle of Pouancé is located in Pouancé, at the western border of the old province of Anjou, where it was built as a defence against Brittany. Along with the remains of the city walls, it covers a surface of three hectares. It is nicknamed the 'second castle of Anjou' because of its size, which is just less than that of the castle of Angers. It belongs to the Breton march, facing the Breton castle of Châteaubriant.

Situated in a location which was fortified in the 11th century, the castle was built between the 12th and 15th centuries. Besieged several times during the Hundred Years' War, it became a strategic fortress at the end of the 15th century, during the Mad War. Ruined during the 16th century and completely abandoned since the 18th, it was saved from destruction when Louis Bessière, an inhabitant of Pouancé, decided to restore the building in the 1960s. The castle is now owned by the town of Pouancé and is open to visitors during the summer months.

The castle has been listed as a monument historique since 7 July 1926. Despite volunteers and amateur excavations over 40 years, little is known about the structure of the castle, due to a lack of deep archaeological surveys.

References:

Wikipedia

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

Mark Griffin (2 years ago)
Great place to visit

Ken Wills (2 years ago)
Nice place to walk and look at

Keith Brown (2 years ago)
Beautiful flowers around the town and a church with an organ, which is rare.

Phil Wilkinson (2 years ago)
Nice to see on a Sunny afternoon.

ioan pexan (7 years ago)
Beautiful place!!!

Château de Pouancé

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Wieskirche