Château de Domfront

Domfront-en-Poiraie

On its rocky spur overlooking the Varenne, Domfront keeps the ruins of one of the great frontier fortresses of Normandy. Founded around 1010–1020 by William I of Bellême, the stronghold was successfully besieged in 1049 by William, Duke of Normandy and the future Conqueror. In 1092 it passed to Henry I Beauclerc, who raised a rectangular keep whose ruined walls still stand 25 metres high. A ducal bastion strengthened after the victory of Tinchebray (1106), Domfront became a residence of the Plantagenets: Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart passed through, and in 1169 Henry II received the papal legates here at the height of his conflict with Thomas Becket. Taken by the troops of Philip Augustus in 1204, besieged by the English in 1417–1418, the fortress saw in 1574 the capture of the Count of Montgomery, the Protestant leader, at the end of a final siege. Dismantled from 1608 to 1610 on the orders of Sully, it is today a public park with free access, restored since 1984, at the heart of a Petite Cité de Caractère famous for its perry and its medieval festival, the Médiévales.

Getting there : In the upper part of the medieval town of Domfront-en-Poiraie; ruins with free access in the public park of the castle

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound