Architecture of French Castles

  France is adorned with a number of fascinating castles with rich cultural backgrounds and history. These castles were built during the medieval times and might date far back to the 10th century. Many of these castles are deemed as tourist sites as they provide an insight into the way and manner of life in the medieval times.

  The architecture of these French castles would depend on a number of factors. Among these factors would be the time it was built. The prevailing style and building patterns of that period or century would decide the architectural design. Some people can tell the age of a castle by just looking at the design. The owner of the castle would also affect the style of the building. A castle owned by a king would display more affluence. The purpose of the castle would also affect as also the number of times additions has been added to the original castle design. It is common for future generations to make amendments and additions to original castle designs.

  Taking these points in view there are still some basic characteristics of French castles. French castles are made up of residential halls, surrounded by large fortified walls. The main residential building is called the keep and additional buildings are built adjoining this. The grounds enclosed by these walls were usually large and were known to contain beautiful expansive gardens. The walls were constructed with walk ways on them to help defend the castle. Another defensive feature was gate house that were constructed at the castle entrance. This had draw or rotational bridges with arrow slits. The gate house had two gates so that an enemy could be trapped and killed within them.

  Castles in France were heavily fortified against attacks and a lot of concentration was put in the defensive nature of the buildings. Art works of the prevalent time was used extensively to decorate the walls and interiors of the castle. The architectural designs of French castles take you back to the medieval time and that is why they are still a tourist delight any day.