Since the 1st March Château d’Harcourt in upper Normandy is opened. So we took advantage of the good weather and went there last Monday.
At the entrance stands an impressive high Lebanon Cedar, which doesn’t look as impressive on the photo made with our cheap camera (grr).
On the path that leads in the actual castle stands a châtelet, a small house used as fortification to secure the entrance.
The castle was built in the 12th to 14th century and refurbished in the 17th century. Parts of the battlement were destroyed in the 17th century and the stones were used for the renovation. One of the Ladys of the harcourt family tried to change the character of the castle from cold fortress to manor house.
The battlement was not completely destroyed, the ruins look very picturesque.
Many of the trees in the arboretum are impressively high, sadly it’s next to impossible, to show this with a cheap camera.
In a walled part of the arboretum stands a dwarf beech from the forst of Verzy in France. It’s trunk, branches and even the roots grow twisted. The reason for this abnormality is unknown.
In the town of harcourt was some kind of spring jollification, everywhere were rag dolls of human size attached.
The church Saint-Ouen, built in the 13th century stands in the middle of the town.
There are lots of timbered houses in Harcourt, and an abbey, but I was too lazy to take photos of the latter.
More about Harcourt:From La-Neuville-du-Bosc to Harcourt
Harcourt Castle in Normandy by stanze (stanzilla, stanzebla).
[…] parson in the area of Harcourt had the reputation of a mighty splitter of thunderstorms. One day, while he visited his colleague […]
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[…] act were among others Robert Curthose (1051-1134), oldest son of William the Conqueror, Robert I of Harcourt (died before 1118), Roger de Thibouville (Eure) and Thierry de Launay […]
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