Photo : Stanzilla / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Château de Conches-en-Ouche
The castle of Conches-en-Ouche is a ruined medieval fortress in the centre of the town, in the Eure. The first buildings date from around 1034, under Roger I de Tosny. Philip Augustus took it in 1199; it was burned in 1356, retaken by Du Guesclin in 1371, seized by the English in 1420, then dismantled in the 16th century after serving as a refuge for the Catholic League in 1591.
The cylindrical keep, built on a motte, is attributed to Roger VI de Tosny around 1175, though another source dates it to 1135. Its walls, 2.60 metres thick, enclosed at least three levels. It is surrounded by a shell-shaped curtain wall flanked by close-set semicircular towers.
The keep has been listed since 1886, and the park with its entrance gate has been a protected natural site since 1940. The ramparts and keep were restored from 2007 to 2016 by volunteers of the CHAM association. The ruins overlook the Rouloir valley, near the Church of Sainte-Foy; the former bailey is now a public garden.
