La Roche Guyon Castle

La Roche-Guyon Castle is located in one of the oldest and most beautiful villages across France. Many people define the Castle in La Roche-Guyon as a captivating palace of complexes in the vicinity of the river Seine. In fact, the castle of La Roche-Guyon is the main cause of the very same name settlement that began to grow in the foothills of the mansion itself.

La Roche-Guyon is a medieval fortress, which dates from the 12th century, when this land was built on a strategically selected place to control one of the routes to and from Normandy.

Castle La Roche-Guyon dominates the surrounding land of limestone rock on which was erected in the French region of Ile de France. Just 10 miles west of La Roche is Vernon.

In the initial development the castle was completely dug in the limestone hill and was hidden from the eyes of people, but it offered a detailed view of the whole valley of the Seine. The medieval dungeon of which was risen to the high plateau was related to the actual castle of La Roche through a secret passage.

An invisible staircase of 450 steps carved into the rocks and some of them reached about 30 cm in height were built to lead to the medieval dungeon. They also led to the loft which at that time was home to more than 200 birds.

In the early 14th century castle of La Roche-Guyon under went a radical change. Part of the scale of this place was cut out to make room for a new palace to meet the requirements of its then owners. Already in the 10th century the mansions owners had traditionally been called by the name Guy.

Over the centuries the palace of La Roche had been home to many important French personages. Many writers had found inspiration for their novels and short stories, using the interior and gardens of La Roche-Guyon as a background in their descriptive narratives.

In the 19th century the then owner of the mansion was Cardinal de Rohan, and he regularly welcomed many writers and artists at his home. Today located on top of the plateau is exactly the medieval dungeon which has managed to be maintained to a height three times less than the original construction.

The main part of the palace includes lounges, a theater, an observatory and a chapel. A visit to the castle guarantees you a lesson on French history from when it was owned by two of the most powerful families - La Rochefoucauld and Rommel a little later.

Between itself Chateau La Roche-Guyon and the River Seine a kitchen was built, which also represents a beautiful garden with breathtaking and many fruit trees, vegetable crops and flower beds. A few special dates of the year in the castle of La Roche-Guyon offers its guests to have a special organized night tour.