Donjon de Ballon

The rose dungeon.

Built in the 11th century on a rocky spur, the Donjon de Ballon, nicknamed the "Gateway to Maine", was the focus of numerous battles between the Anglo-Normans and the French from the 11th to the 13th centuries. William the Conqueror and Philippe Auguste fought to conquer it. It was not until the end of the Hundred Years' War that Ballon was definitively attached to France by the companions of Joan of Arc.
Listed as a Historic Monument, the fortress dates back to the 12th century and its facade was opened up in the 16th century, during the Renaissance, a period when homes and minds opened up to the outside world. The architecture - the keep has retained its curtain walls and drawbridge - the period furniture and the gardens, which have been awarded the "remarkable garden" label, allow visitors to appreciate life as it must have been in the Middle Ages.