Chateau de Boulogne sur Mer

· by · in Boulogne Sur Mer, Castles & Palaces, Medieval/Middle Ages, Road Trip, WWII. ·

Castle Moat

On our way to hunt for food, we happened upon the incredible ‘Chateau de Boulogne sur Mer‘ – hunger could wait!

The grounds were absolutely magnificent, primarily naturally grown but well maintained, gorgeous vines and pink flowers.

Turret

The moat was partially drained and turned into a breathtaking public park. Currently the castle functions primarily as a museum, though in the past it has been everything from a personal residence to a prison.

Up Through the Grass

During WWII, Hitler designated Boulogne a ‘fortress’ state because of the impressive château. It was one of the places he had planned to stand down, along with a few of the other fortified cities throughout France.

Pink Flowers

The 13th century castle courtyard was equally as stunning as the grounds, with its cobble stone square and beautifully maintained court homes.

On one wall of the court was a plaque dedicated to Canadians from WWII telling of a fascinating story filled with danger and surreptitiousness.

The Highlanders of Canada

An unknown, heroic Boulognaise man, led Canadian troops through a secret entrance to the Citadel in the castle court – enabling them to retake the fortress from German hands.

The town was seized in May of 1940, and recaptured by the Canadian allies on September 22, 1944. With our morning tour of Vimy Ridge, it had really been a powerful day of remembering.

F'Ya Castle

The most excited I have ever seen my husband during our travels is captured in the above photo. He says;

F’ Ya! Look at this! An awesome castle, a moat and even a f*%#ing DRAWBRIDGE!

We wandered the castle, its court and the yards (starving!) for at least two hours, and vowed to return before we departed Boulogne.

Walk the Plank

We were entirely overwhelmed with excitement at our ‘random find’. It couldn’t have happened at a better time for us, having been weary of France and attempting to leave with bad memories.

In Front of the Castle

Weary no more, we felt refreshed and madly in love with legendary France – and we hadn’t even entered town yet!

Many additional photos in the slideshow.

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You can follow this trip by heading to the ‘8 Country EU Tour‘ section, and you can enjoy many more photos of France by heading to the Habitual Runaway on Facebook.

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