Donjon de Pons, Keep in Pons, Charente-Maritime, France

The Donjon de Pons is a 33-metre quadrangular keep of dressed stone, built from 1187 under Geoffroy III de Pons and the finest Romanesque palace keep in western France. Its walls are 2.5 metres thick on three sides and 4.40 metres on the north, on a base of 26.45 by 15.25 metres, with three interior levels. A round clock face and a small belfry sit above the crenellated parapet, and a round turret with slit windows adjoins the base.

The first keep on the site was destroyed in 1136 by the Count of Poitou. After Richard Lionheart razed the castle in 1179, Geoffroy III de Pons rebuilt it in 1187, adding the quadrangular keep partly on the old foundations. Louis XIII's armies destroyed the castle in 1622 after the 1621 siege, sparing the keep.

The keep represents medieval military architecture of western France, with its quadrangular shape and strategic position above the Seugne valley.

The keep is not open for interior visits; it is seen from the public garden laid out on the castle esplanade, which offers a panorama over the Seugne valley. The garden is reached on foot from the upper town, and the ground on the terrace and rampart walk is uneven.

The interior stone spiral staircase follows the original access route to the first floor, replacing what was once a wooden staircase. This shows how such structures were adapted over time for better functionality while keeping their basic form intact.