Fougères Castle

At the end of the 10th century , a simple wooden keep was erected on a rocky islet at the bottom of the Nançon valley, surrounded by marshes. In 1166 , the English king Henry II Plantagenet destroyed the structure, but Raoul II quickly rebuilt a stone fortress on the same site.

Over the centuries, the castle of Fougères became one of the largest fortified castles in Europe , equipped with an impressive defensive system: eleven towers , moats , crenellations , machicolations , arrow slits , merlons , curtain walls and a walkway .

Evolving over more than 400 years , the fortress now stands as a veritable history book and a major example of medieval military architecture .