Pierrefond Castle in France

    I was very fortunate to be invited along for a trip into France for sightseeing!  The trip was planned to be a quick overnight tour of two castles.  As someone who loves medieval history and historical artifacts, getting to visit Château de Pierrefonds and Château de Versailles was fantastic and a dream come true! It was a lovely girls’ only with the wife of my YEO, her daughter, and the other exchange student living in Comines as company. They were very nice and kind to include me.

Our first stop was to visit the castle of Pierrefonds in a beautiful little town.  Even looking back with the distance of another week under my belt in Europe, I can’t get over architecture and natural beauty of the scenery around me in  the cities, and I hope I never do.

   Pierrefonds is a gorgeous twelfth century medieval castle in France.  It was renovated in the nineteenth century, because the castle was almost destroyed during the French Revolution.  The structure remained intact while the furnishings, tapestries, and walls were decimated.  Napoleon the First bought the castle in 1810 for less than three thousand francs.  Viollet-Le-Duc was asked to lead the restoration project in 1857, but was cautioned to keep certain ruins for picturesque purposes. 

 The four turrets are connected by halls, rooms, and passageways with openings to see out.  The center of the castle is a courtyard filled with cobblestone on the ground.  The castle can also boast a church protected within the fortress.

On Right, the brilliant Elise from Australia posing with friendly Margot and myself attempting to figure out what to do in the photo in front of a fireplace in one grand chamber.

This is a renovated portion of the castle in the King's Chambers.  It is a depiction of the stages of a Knight's life, surrounding the room boarder at the top of the room that the King slept in.  They are not original from he Middle Ages, but an addition added during the renovation the 1800s.

 I've been seated in the Belgian Parliament and been in three castles since I've arrived in Belgium.

There's quite a few jokes I would like to put here, but in the interest of seeing more I will refrain.

WE FOUND EXCALIBUR!  It was out of the stone already, apparently.  Actually, Pierrefonds Castle was the filming location for scenes from the television Arthurian Legend retelling Merlin, as well as Highlander and the movie The Man in the Iron Mask.  This is a sword displayed in the King's Chambers.

 This is the view from entering the an audience chamber, that is now used for displays of medieval suits of armor.