Château de Fougères

About this place

The Château de Fougères is a castle in the commune of Fougères in the Ille-et-Vilaine département of France. The castle was built on a naturally protected site, a rock emerging from a swamp surrounded by a loop of the Nançon river acting as a natural moat. It had three different enclosures: the first for defensive purposes; the second for day to day usages in peacetime and for safety of the surrounding populations in times of siege; and the last for the protection of the keep. In all it has an impressive 13 towers. Look at the entrances, walls and surrounding terrain together. Their relationship helps explain how the site controlled movement and protected its occupants, while later alterations can reveal the shift from military stronghold to residence or monument.