Balsthal, Switzerland
12th century
Dornach, Switzerland
11th century
Oensingen, Switzerland
1250
Trimbach, Switzerland
10th century AD
Feldbrunnen-St.Niklaus, Switzerland
1682-1686
Kyburg-Buchegg, Switzerland
1546
Balm bei Günsberg, Switzerland
11th century
Holderbank, Switzerland
c. 1050
Solothurn, Switzerland
1725-1728
Lostorf, Switzerland
13th century
Büsserach, Switzerland
1100
Château de Niort is a medieval castle in the French town of Niort. It consists of two square towers, linked by a 15th-century building and dominates the Sèvre Niortaise valley.
The two donjons are the only remaining part of the castle. The castle was started by Henry II Plantagenet in the 12th century and completed by Richard the Lionheart. It was defended by a rectangular curtain wall and was damaged during the Wars of Religion. In the 18th century, the castle served as a prison.
The present keeps were the central point of a massive fortress. The southern keep is 28m tall, reinforced with turrets. The northern tower is slightly shorter at 23m. Both are flanked with circular turrets at the corners as well as semicircular buttresses. Each of the towers has a spiral staircase serving the upper floors. The Romanesque architecture is of a high quality with the dressed stones closely jointed.