Château Gaillard, Medieval castle in Les Andelys, France
Château Gaillard is a medieval castle ruin on limestone cliffs above the Seine near Les Andelys in Normandy. The site shows three successive rings of walls with several defensive towers and a twelve-sided keep in the innermost section.
Richard the Lionheart began building the castle in 1196, despite the Treaty of Louviers forbidding fortification of the site, to block the Seine valley against Philip II. The estimated cost of £12,000 between 1196 and 1198 exceeded Richard's spending on all his English castles. Philip II took the fortress in 1204 after a siege, and Henry IV ordered its demolition in 1599.
The name Gaillard, from Old French for bold or sturdy, was given to the castle Richard the Lionheart built in two years from 1196. The Pipe rolls recording its construction are the earliest documents showing how a medieval castle workforce was organised. The ruins have been listed as a monument historique since 1862.
The inner bailey is open to visitors from March to November, while the outer baileys can be entered all year. The ruins stand on a limestone promontory about 90 m above Les Andelys, reached on foot from the town.
The inner ward contains a twelve-sided tower with walls about 3 meters (10 feet) thick, an unusual design for the time. This shape was meant to reduce attack surfaces and offer less hold for projectiles.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,559 contributors worldwide.
