France · 12th century
The Donjon de Niort or Château de Niort (the former is most often used today) is a medieval castle in the French town of Niort in the département of Deux-Sèvres. It consists of two square towers, linked by a 15th-century building and dominates the Sèvre Niortaise valley.
The two donjons are the only remaining part of the castle. The castle was started by Henry II Plantagenet and completed by Richard the Lionheart. It was defended by a rectangular curtain wall and was damaged during the Wars of Religion. In the 18th century, the castle served as a prison.
Text adapted from “Donjon de Niort” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Donjon de Niort ranks #6,373 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #573 of the 793 mapped in France. Founded c. 1200, it is older than 75% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 756 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how France compares in the castle statistics.
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