Gisors Castle

Gisors, France, France

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Gisors Castle is a well-preserved medieval fortress in the town of Gisors in Normandy, long used as a frontier stronghold between the English-controlled Duchy of Normandy and the French kingdom.

Built initially around the late 11th century as a motte-and-bailey castle, it was later reinforced with an impressive octagonal stone keep and stone curtain walls, making it a key defensive site for the Norman and then English kings during the 11th and 12th centuries.

The castle changed hands several times, notably being seized by the French king Philip II while Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned, and it gradually lost its strategic military value after the late Middle Ages.

Gisors is also famous for its association with the Knights Templar: the castle was entrusted to them in the 12th century, and later served as a prison for the last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, contributing to legends about a hidden Templar treasure on the site.