Château de Crèvecoeur, Crèvecœur-en-Auge, France

Château de Crèvecoeur is a small castle survived to this day practically intact. The inner bailey is protected by the moat, the motte and its curtain wall dating back to the 12th century, slashed with arrow slits. The only way across to the inner bailey, and thus the lord’s dwelling-place, is a single footbridge.

The importance of farming is immediately obvious. There is a farm, a dovecote and a barn in the outer bailey, forming a very fine example of regional constructions built using timber panelling. Originally protected by a talus topped with a wooden palisade, it was the place where villagers could take refuge in the event of an attack.

The gatehouse, built in the 16th century, is flanked by two round turrets topped with a pointed roof. Boasting a portal, the ground floor was constructed with alternating brick and stone. The upper floor was constructed in timber panelling with the wall framing made of bars and fern leaves.

The original castle chapel is made in Romanesque style: thick buttressed walls, a few, narrow openings, a full-centre arch and inside, the arched framework and vestiges of wall paintings. The chapel has not been in use since the 1930s.

There is also a botanical garden, 15th century dovecote and 16th century barn on the castle site.

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Château de Crèvecoeur

User Reviews

Sjoerd van Willigenburg (2 months ago)
Nice place with reenactment going on. Nice to visted with kids but the price is a bit too steep if you are with only two adults.

Sean Kennedy (2 months ago)
Very nice reconstructed medieval town. We visited during a period with actors and actrices playing the role of period villagers. This definitely added to the ambiance and the overall appreciation. Everything is well maintained and there are a good number of exhibits and explanations. It is hard to read everything as these areas don't have anything to keep the little ones occupied. The on-site food is pretty good, but try to beat the crowd as service can be slow. You can help yourself by bringing cash as the network for the card readers seems extremely weak and slow. There were not really any demonstrations or other ways to engage on the small site. There is a nice walk that you can take, but it seems like there is some potential that is not being exploited overall.

Peter Myburgh (5 months ago)
We went with the kids on the first day of reopening after lockdown and seemed to not be ready for visitors. Nothing like the pictures we saw online besides the buildings.

Michael George (14 months ago)
Well thought out coronavirus measures (one group per room indoors, crowd managed at entry) and enough to see outdoors. Also let kids in for free and had hidden little stuffed dragons as a treasure hunt, and there was a small prize if you find them all. Only minor complain was that printed signage was almost exclusively French, but there was and audio guide in other languages

Melanie Robinson (14 months ago)
Great kids activities in the summer time

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Steve Clasper

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