The Château d'O is built on an island in a small lake (un étang in French) which serves as its moat. It dates back to the 15th century and has been modified and renovated several times over the course of the centuries. The O family (some sources spell it Ô with a circumflex accent) distinguished itself during the Crusades. O is not the only one-letter proper name in French; there are a dozen others, according to one article I just read (no list).
Anyway, the O château was our next stop on that day in June 2001 when my late friend Charles-Henry and I spent about 12 hours touring around in Lower Normandy. It's less than 10 minutes by car from the Château de Médavy, and big towns nearby are Alençon, Mortagne-au-Perche, and Argentan.
These are some pictures I took at
le château d'O in June 2001.
Don't confuse it with
château d'eau, which means "water tower".
Wow, that is so interesting about the last name being just one letter... and not the only family name like that.
ReplyDeleteThese are great phots, Ken.
I wish the article I found saying there are a dozen one-letter names in France besides O had listed some examples.
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