A little history of Picquigny castle
And also
The tops
Hear ye, hear ye! Here we are in Picquigny... Oh, well, I get excited...
Anyway, these ruins are pretty nice! Come on, let's go!
Did you know the famous writer madame de Sévigné spent 4 days in the castle, in 1689?
She compared it to her Grignan castle, in her letters:
« C'est un vieux bâtiment élevé au-dessus de la ville, comme à Grignan; je ne sais si la fondation est aussi belle, mais ce sont des terrasses sur la rivière de Somme qui fait cent tours dans les prairies, voilà ce qui n'est pas à Grignan. »
Which means:
"It's an old building raised above the city, like in Grignan. But those terraces overlooking river Somme aren't like Grignan's gardens."
The castle itself was raised in the 14th century on very old foundations, then completed between the 14th and the 17th century.
Just imagine it like a big fortress surrounded by a wall flanked by towers.
Nowadays we still see ruins, like the porte du Gard (Gard gate), flanked by coat of arms belonging to Antoine d'Ailly and his wife Margaret of Melun, or the Sévigné's detached house.
During the visit, you'll see vaulted kitchens, with a big chimney, cellars and jail.
Graffiti used to decorate the wall into the little cell. Among those drawings, oh... look! A gallows with a hanged man... Brr!
By the way, did you know king of France Louis XI and Edward IV of England signed here in the castle treaty of Picquigny, on August 29th 1475? This treaty ended up the terrible Hundred Years War!