The Lionheart's castle, Normandy
The world is littered with castles, once
majestic but now standing as ghostly reminders to the way we once lived.
Château Gaillard was built on the banks of the Seine between 1196 and 1198 on
the orders of Richard the Lionheart, then king of England and duke
of Normandy. The stronghold – north-west of Paris – was as close as possible to
the border between Richard’s Normandy and the territories of the French king.
It was supposed to be impregnable but fell to the French in 1204. The chateau
is among 100 forts featured in Abandoned
Castles by Kieron Connolly . Photograph: Francis Cormon/Alamy