Saint Germain De Confolens - France ...

 Another great place we saw on my visit to the Charente 

in May 2014 with Diane and Nigel. 

I just did a google on this castle and found Diane's blog post 
of a visit she did in 2012. I am sure she won't mind the link to her blog!!

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Saint-Germain-de-Confolens is a small village  in the north-east of the Charente department (Poitou-Charentes region) to the north of Confolens.
The village stands below a hill that is dominated by  two  important monuments - the castle and the 12th century Church of Saint-Vincent.

We went to see this .....

 And were amazed to also see these ...

Here you can alos see the church of 

St Vincent ...

(more about these in a new post) 

The fortified castle of Saint-Germain, although in ruins, still has a substantial amount to see - especially the two large circular towers, with the remains of the main castle building in between them. The castle dates from the 14th-15th centuries and is built on the site of a 12th century fortress.

 And nestled away behind the wall and with a river running near by 

is this lovely little Cemetery .. lovingly looked after too!

The Church of Saint Vincent was originally the chapel of the chateau. 

Say a little pray for me ..

 Love the Stained Glass window!

   The Gallic rooster ,   as a symbol for France dates back to the collapse of the Roman Empire and the formation of Gaul. Despite its frequent use as a symbol for France, the rooster has never been an official emblem. “Cocorico !” (French for “cock-a-doodle-doo”) is often used as an affirmation of French patriotism.

 I know a lot of you

enjoy history, architecture and  the views too.

Hope you enjoy this. 

Thank you to everyone for their lovely comments on my previous post 

and on Facebook too!!  I think Facebook is taking over from blogging , but 

I am going to keep going on here for as long as I can.

♥ ♥ ♥ 

High up in the Vosges mountains…. .

is the amazing Haut-Koenigsbourg castle which is located at Orschwiller, Alsace, France, in the Vosges mountains just west of Sélestat. The castle is nestled at a strategic location on a high hill overlooking the Alsatian plain; as a result it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years' War when it was abandoned. In 1900 it was restored under the direction of Emperor Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist attraction, located on the Alsace wine route.

A fabulous place to visit, especially on a clear day. These photos were taken on the 19th November, so we were very lucky with the weather.