Fort de Boutavant, Medieval fortification on Île La Tour, France
Fort de Boutavant is a medieval fortification located on an island in the Seine River in Normandy, France. The ruins show the remains of a quadrilateral structure whose walls are partially preserved and visible from the opposite riverbank.
The fort was built around 1198 as an outpost to defend Château-Gaillard, which stood upstream on the river. It fell in 1203 to French King Philip Augustus during his summer campaign.
The fort shows how medieval rulers controlled passage along rivers and what military solutions they used to secure water routes in this region. You can still see the strategic thinking of that era reflected in how the ruins are positioned.
You can observe the ruins from the opposite bank of the Seine and view the structure from different positions along the river. The best views come during daylight when sunlight illuminates the stone remains.
The stones from this fort were recycled in 1571 and reused to build the Chartreuse de Bourbon-lez-Gaillon under King Charles IX. This fate reveals how medieval structures, once their military purpose ended, had their materials simply repurposed for new projects.
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