Donjon de Houdan
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The Donjon de Houdan (lit: Keep of Houdan) is a medieval fortified tower in the commune of Houdan in the Yvelines département of France.
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[edit] Architecture
Constructed in the beginning of the 12th century by Amaury III de Montfort, the Keep is one of the last vestiges of the ancient fortifications of the city. It is a massive tower isolated from the borough in the west, and is currently used as a water tank. It is strictly speaking not a keep as it does not form a part of a fortified castle (French: château-fort).
The tower is apparently cylindrical, 16 metres in diameter and 25 metres in height. It is flanked by four identical turrets of the same height and 4.8 metres in diameter each. The walls of the towerhave an average thickness of three metres.
The tower consists of three levels: a ground floor, and two higher floors. The interior floors and roof have disappeared. The access door was located 6 metres above the ground level and once gave access to the mezzanine floor.
[edit] History
- 1120–1137: construction of the keep
- 1840: classified as an official historical building (French: monument historique)
- 1880: installation of a 200 kilolitre cistern in the keep, transforming it into a water tower (French: château d'eau)
- 1903: acquisition of the keep by the town of Houdan, courtesy of the last private owner, a Dr. Aulet.
This tower has never been taken during its history.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Home-page of the association « le Donjon de Houdan »
- Ministry of Culture database entry for Donjon de Houdan (French)
- This article was initially translated from this Wikipedia article « fr:Donjon de Houdan » , specifically from this version.
