Falaise Castle

Falaise Castle

On Saturday, Alice and I decided to go visit the castle at Falaise, the birth place of William the Conqueror and the seat of power in Normandy for many years. It was an easy one hour drive from our house, so we left just after lunch and planned on spending the afternoon.

Castle grounds and restoration work, as seen from the top of the tower.

The visitors center sits in the middle of the castle grounds, in a modern steel and glass building. Thankfully, they speak English, sort of. The castle signs and directories are all in English and French. But the coolest part is the tablet computer they give you. It gives the tourist a virtual view of each of the rooms. You simply key it to the room and then hold it in front of you and it displays a view of that part of the room as it would have appeared in the middle ages. Turn around and the virtual view changes seamlessly to reveal every part of the room, walls, ceilings and floor.

Tablet showing virtual view of the room.

There was also information on the tablet about objects that would have been in the room. Ceiling mounted projectors cast a five minute film of an actor portraying historical figures onto the wall of many rooms.

Welcome to our Castle! No swords on the furniture please.

Alice always has fun.

Graffiti from the guards that sat watch at the window towers, it dates from the 12-13th century.

Other graffiti is more recent.

William the Conqueror's statue in the town square.

Alice taking pictures below the castle.

Guided tours are also given.

Robert the Magnificent, 6^th Duke of Normandy, was on his way home from a hunting trip during the first blossoms of spring, when he noticed a young village girl standing near a fountain. They were both aged seventeen and the girl, Arlette, quickly became Robert’s official concubine. William was born to Arlette and Robert at Christmas time in 1027. By Danish tradition, all children both legitimate and illegitimate are treated as equals. The fountain where they met is just to the left of the above picture and also pictured below.

The fountain where Robert and Arlette met.

Falaise means cliff or high crag and is a fitting name for the castle.

Village of Falaise

William's story from bastard son to Duke of Normandy and King of England is a fascinating tale and far too involved to cover in this short blog.