About 25 miles southwest of Rouen, on the way to Paris, the ruins of Château Gaillard still stand over the Seine River. King Richard I commissioned the castle in 1196, when England occupied portions of modern-day France. The English and French fought for control of the castle for roughly 400 years—a span including the Hundred Years War—before Henry IV of France ordered it demolished. Today, the outer walls—called baileys—are open to the public year-round, while the inner baileys are open during summer months.
A silent witness to history
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
The Girl Scouts celebrate 110 years
-
Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
-
World Laughter Day
-
To the 155th on the 155th
-
Coming home to roost
-
Lavender fields in Plateau de Valensole, France
-
Totally Thames Festival, London
-
Fujian Tulou, China
-
Black-naped monarch
-
Solar Impulse 2 in Honolulu
-
Buddha in the roots of a tree, Ayutthaya, Thailand
-
Point Reyes National Seashore, California
-
Rice terraces of Mù Cang Chải, Yên Bái province, Vietnam
-
Endangered Species Day
-
A showcase for future fame
-
Toledo, Spain
-
I ll call for pen and ink
-
Aït Benhaddou, Morocco
-
A storied trail marks a century
-
Jöriseen lakes in the Silvretta Alps, Switzerland
-
National Mushroom Month
-
A bite of ancient history
-
Too awesome to be a planet
-
Sand dunes in the Sahara, Algeria
-
It’s Weihnachtsmarkt time!
-
Happy Holi!
-
Old Rock Day
-
Northern cardinal in winterberry bush
-
Rapa Valley in Sarek National Park, Sweden
-
Oh, the places you’ll go