The 11th century keep of the castle of Loches (Indre-et-Loire, France)

Photo by Lieven Smits

The photo shows only the smallest, central part of the castle. Actually, it is huge. The outer walls of the entire fortified area is 1,1 kilometers (0.7 miles) long. Photos like this and this attempt to do it justice.

Because of the strategic position above the Loire valley, the location has been fortified since the times of the Roman empire, though it was likely a wooden structure and none of it survived the times. A castle getss mentioned in the 5th and 8th century, but it was entirely destroyed and had to be rebuild in the 11th century. The castle's keep dates from that era, though it was expanded several times, it remains largely intact and is one of the oldest of its kind in France.

The castle was disputed in the Hundred Years War, lost by John Lackland, it was regained by Richard Lionheart, then lost to the French kings yet again. The French kings turned into a royal castle and fortified it further. The castle is famous for an encounter between the future French king Charles VII. and Joan of Arc when she informed him of the liberation of the city of Orléans.

Like many medieval castles who lost their strategic importance, it became a prison in the late 15th century, thus it became a focal point of the people's rage during the French Revolution which destroyed most of the castle. While some parts of the castle (particularly the royal quarters, not visible in the photo above, on the opposite end of the fortifications) were restored in the 19th century, the keep remains a ruin.