Montchauvet Castle

Montchauvet Castle, locally known as Château de Montchauvet, lies in the village of the same name in the Yvelines department in France.

The village was founded in 1050, around an abbey near the confluence of the Vaucouleurs river and the Ru d'Houville stream, along an old Roman road. It was defended by a wooden fortress situated on the east side of the village.

Montchauvet Castle was then built in the 1130s, on a different spot than the earlier wooden fortress, west of the medieval village. The castle consisted of a 5-sided keep atop a motte connected to a bailey. Around 1200, Philippe II 'Auguste' of France fortified the village by building a town wall, equipped with 4 gates, incorporating the castle.

During the Hundred Years' War the village first prospered, despite frequent Anglo-Norman incursions in the region and although Charles V of France had the castle dismantled in 1378. His successor; Charles VI, again restored it. By the end of the war, however, in the mid-15th century, the village was impoverished. Being far from any border, the castle then also had lost its strategic importance.

The castle was finally completely dismantled in 1590 as ordered by Henry IV of France. Afterward, the ruin became a stone quarry for the locals. What remains today of the 12th century fortifications is the motte with several wall parts of the keep and one town gate; called the Porte de Bretagne.

Montchauvet Castle can freely be seen from the public road. The motte with the keep ruin can not be accessed as it is too unstable. Just a simple ruin in a sleepy village.

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