Château de Dampierre was built in the 16th century to the site of medieval castle. In the 14th century, Hébert Thésard, a descendant of Raoul Theu-Zart, Rollon's companion, married Perette de Dampierre, the last heir of the eponymous fief. Their great-granddaughter, Marie, married Jean II de Longaunay, the lord of Damigny near Bayeux, for the second time, at the beginning of the 16th century. Their son, Hervé IV de Longaunay, settled in Dampierre and was one of the close associates of Marshal de Matignon. During the Wars of Religion, after renouncing Protestantism, Hervé joined the Catholic party. However, remaining loyal to the crown, he sided with Henry IV upon his accession to the throne. Hervé, while he was the king's lieutenant general, died in 1590 at the Battle of Ivry. Hervé rebuilt the castle, probably replacing a medieval construction, with the moats and tower bases preserved.
His son, Jean de Longaunay, military intendant of Saint-Lô, joined the League. In the second half of the 17th century, the fief was elevated to a marquisate.
During the Revolution, the main residence was destroyed, as were the outbuildings located to the south and north of the courtyard.
In the 19th century, the castle was owned by the Marquis de Briges, an old family from Lozère, who owned numerous properties in Lower Normandy. In 1891, upon the death of the last heiress, Marie-Barbe de Briges-Longaunay, the estate passed to her nephew, François Doynel de Sausserie, who from 1924 to 1927 dismembered it.
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.