Pirou Castle
| Pirou Castle | |
|---|---|
 Entrance to the Pirou Castle |
|
| Creation time : | probably 12th century |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg |
| Conservation status: | Received or received substantial parts |
| Place: | Lessay |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 9 '41.8 " N , 1 ° 34' 25" W |
The castle Pirou ( French Chateau Fort de Pirou ) is not far from Lessay on the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy in France . The Niederungsburg , located in the middle of an artificial lake, is a fortification from the 12th century and was redesigned like a castle in the 17th century.
Serlon I. de Hauteville is considered to be the ancestor of the Lords of Pirou. As one of the twelve sons of Tankred von Hauteville , he was a brother of Robert Guiscard , the founder of Norman rule in Sicily , who arrived in Apulia around 1035 with his older brother Wilhelm Eisenarm and conquered Sicily from 1061.
A knight of Pirou took part in the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and was given a property in Somerset , where his family founded the Stoke Pero Church in Stoke-Pero in the 12th century, the highest church in Somerset, 309 m above sea level .
The castle was besieged several times during the Hundred Years War from 1337 to 1453, partly destroyed and repeatedly repaired. It was last restored in the 18th century, but then used as a farm for about 100 years until the beginning of the 20th century . Pirou Castle used to be much closer to the sea and was intended as a protection for a natural bay. Once reinforced by several outer ramparts and ditches , of which remains are left, it was difficult to take because of the obstacles that were still largely there. The impressive walls from the 12th and 14th centuries, which were restored from 1968 onwards, remain of the medieval complex.
legend
There is a legend about the castle in which it is said that the inhabitants of the castle, in order to escape the siege of Scandinavian conquerors, turned themselves into geese with the help of a spell and flew away. The besiegers started a fire in the empty castle, whereupon the spellbook, which was necessary to reverse the spell, burned. The geese returned, but are now tied to their animal form. Since then, they have returned every spring in the hope of reversing the transformation. In autumn they move south again, unsuccessful.
Footnotes
- ↑ Pictures at Commons
- ↑ German guide through the castle. In: Pirou Castle website. Accessed August 31, 2020 .
