The Palace of Omurtag is an archaeological site in northeastern Bulgaria dating to Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages located near the village of Han Krum in Shumen Province. The site has been pinpointed as the location of a fort and palace of Omurtag, ruler (kanasybigi) of the First Bulgarian Empire in 815–831, as mentioned in the Chatalar Inscription of 822. Earlier structures in the vicinity of the fortress have been identified as the Arian episcopal see of a Gothic bishop.
The main feature of the archaeological site is the early-9th-century Bulgarian fortified rampart with Omurtag's palace within its limits.
The earliest ruins at the Palace of Omurtag site include four churches, two of which built on top of each other; a bath; and fortified walls, all dating to Late Antiquity (roughly 250–650 CE). Three of the churches and the bath lie outside the medieval fortification, while one of the churches and the traces of ancient walls have been excavated within its limits.
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The Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.
