The "footprint" on the ground of the donjon du château de Loches is 345 square meters (25.2 x 13.7 meters) and the structure stands 36 meters tall. That's a 3,700 sq. ft. footprint (82 ft. x 45 ft.) and a height of about 120 ft. Above is what it looks like on Google Maps street view. It was built during the first third of the 11th century by the powerful count of Anjou called Foulques Nerra (Fulk "the Black" in English). Fulk's grandson was Geoffry Plantagenet, who married the heir to the English throne (queen Matilda) and started the 300-year reign of England's Plantagenet kings. Below are some of my photos of the château de Loches.
Above and below are some pictures of the donjon at Loches that I took in May 2006. The old tower was used as a prison from the 1500s until 1926.
Uggh, what a nasty prison that must have made. Very cool as a historic attraction, not so cool to have humans stuck in there :)
ReplyDeleteI love the aerial view of the donjon.
So many years a prison!
ReplyDeleteHard to believe it was still being used as a prison in the 1920’s. The conditions must have been horrendous.
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn