Château de Rânes, Medieval castle and museum in Rânes, France

Château de Rânes stands in the bourg facing the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption church. Its square keep, with cut corners, two upper storeys on a ground floor, crenellations and machicolations, was built in dressed granite in the early 15th century by Guillaume de Méheudin. The keep sits within a 17th- and 18th-century facade flanked by two late 15th-century pavilions, remodelled in the 17th century.

The castle is first mentioned in 1372 and stayed in one lineage for nearly nine centuries, except 1419–1450, when Henry V of England gave it to Gérard Huyn. A fire devastated it in 1719, and Louis d'Argouges, marquis de Rannes and maréchal de camp, rebuilt and enlarged it. In 1789 only part of the archives burned; the commune bought the building in 1947.

The castle's museum of prehistory, entered through the cour d'honneur, is described in the sources as the most complete in the Orne department, and its visit includes the keep tower. The park keeps the layout of a 120-hectare garden attributed to Le Nôtre, with a ha-ha ditch dug to open the view west. The patronal festival is held on 15 August.

The site is normally accessible Tuesday through Friday, and during warmer months, visitors can join guided tours of the tower. It is wise to check ahead whether the planned route is open for your intended visit.

The footprint of a fairy is said to be visible in the stone at the top of the keep, a mark also reported at Gratot in the Manche and at the manoir d'Argouges in Vaux-sur-Aure, other homes of the d'Argouges family.