France · Restored
Château d'Harcourt
The Château d'Harcourt is a medieval castle in Harcourt, Eure, Normandy, long associated with the Harcourt family and now noted for its historic arboretum. The site preserves a polygonal curtain with multiple round towers and a fortified gate (châtelet); parts were adapted for residential use in the 17th century and the ensemble remains largely visible today.
First raised
1200
Its prime
1350
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1350
The shape it held in its prime.
A low polygonal stone castle of pale grey-beige rubble and dressed ashlar, encircled by a deep dry ditch and curtain wall punctuated by nine round towers capped with steep tiled conical roofs. The principal entrance is a monumental châtelet set between twin cylindrical towers, with a broad arched gate and stone bridge over the ditch. The central square keep rises within the polygon and large rectangular bays were later cut into the residential range, all masonry showing coursed rubble and horizontal stringcourses.
Its story
The story of Château d'Harcourt.
The cradle of the Harcourt family, whose lords trace their origins to the year 1000, though a castle is only proven from texts in the second half of the 12th century. Robert II d'Harcourt, a companion of Richard Lionheart on crusade, certainly built the first stone castle; Jean II d'Harcourt was named Marshal of France and hosted King Philip III, and in 1338 Philip VI made the château the principal town of the new seigniory of Harcourt.
Seldom besieged, the castle became a military base only during the Hundred Years' War: the English claimed it in 1418 but were eventually expelled by the counts of Dunois. As the war closed the domain returned to the Rieux family, and from the second half of the 16th century it belonged to the powerful Lorraine-Guise family.
The fabric records the whole evolution of castle-building: a motte-and-bailey origin, a 12th-century square stone tower, a 13th-century polygonal enclosure with nine round towers and a deep dry ditch, and a 14th-century fortified gate — a châtelet — with archeries enlarged for crossbows. Parts were adapted for residence in the 17th century, and the grounds hold the oldest arboretum in France.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1350.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Château d'Harcourt — including 2 interiors: gatehouse passage beneath the châtelet, noble apartments with large rectangular bays. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Château d'Harcourt with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1350 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Château d'Harcourt.
The families that held Château d'Harcourt for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Harcourt
Cradle of the Harcourt family: Robert II d'Harcourt built the first stone castle in the 12th century, and in 1338 the seigniory of Harcourt was created around it.
Rieux
The domain returned to the Rieux family as the Hundred Years' War drew to a close.
Guise
Held by the powerful Lorraine-Guise family from the second half of the 16th century.
