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Founded: 12th centuryCategory: Miscellaneous historic sites in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)
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The feudal castle of Sancerre was one of the strongest castles of the Middle Ages built in France. It was the seat of Counts of Sancerre. The future king Charles VII and Joan of Arc stayed at the Chateau de Sancerre, which was strategically placed on the border of the "kingdom of Bourges."
The town of Sancerre was formerly fortified. It was built under the castle, closing access to the less steep slope of the mountain. The castle and city walls were demolished in 1621.
Today only the tower, foundations, cellars or parts of walls remains of castle. The location of the old castle is now occupied by a mansion (1874) of Louis XII and a private park, owned by the Company Marnier-Lapostolle.
References:Střekov Castle (Schreckenstein) is perched atop a cliff above the River Elbe, near the city of Ústí nad Labem. It was built in 1316 for John of Luxembourg, the father of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, to guard an important trade route to Germany. After changing hands several times, the castle was acquired by the Lobkowicz family in 1563. Its strategic importance led to occupations by Imperial Habsburg, Saxon, and Swedish forces during the Thirty Years' War, as well as successive sieges by Austrian and Prussian armies during the Seven Years' War.
Although Střekov Castle was heavily damaged during those conflicts and abandoned as a military installation by the end of the 18th century, the 1800s saw many poets and artists visiting the castle, drawn by a new trend of interest in romantic ruins.