trip to Domfront

 

We visited Domfront, a town about 30 minutes from Chenedouit last week. The castle‘s origins can be traced back to the 11th century. 

The town is built on a hill and most of the old town is encircled by a fortified wall.

This newspaper /printing shop is located on one entrante/gate to the town. 

You can read the sign below....While the people were waiting for the gates to open, they would tie up their horses (close up of the iron circles on the building below) and drink at the fountain. 

Below is the fountain

Here's one of the towers and I assume this was the road 

which had a "gate/toll" back in the day.

No right angles on this door ....

Hard to tell from this angle, but this house was accessable to the street by crossing over this little bridge that they'd built. I love this place, because it was named "the Dink". Like Dinky ? Small? we'll never know. 

Below are just some wonderful store fronts/houses. 

I assume this was the "fishmonger" shop....

A little fixer upper? 

Here's that fish shop again. 

The shots below are on the main shopping street. Most of these places are now vacant and run down, but according to the signs, this was the popular merchant street in medieval times. 

The place below with the red shutters, you'd go up to the window (note the gap in the wood molding) and do your business exchange/shopping.

(All of these types of sign are bilingual. 

If you blow them up large enough perhaps you can make out the English text.)

 c

This was a really cute courtyard with a tower as well as other homes. I wouldn't want to live here if you paid me, no privacy, but very picturesque. 

The sign below is talking about the construction method of the type of house below with wood timbers and straw/clay mixture. 

And now on to the castle of the town.

Don't know what this building was, aside from being very cute.

This is all that's left of the donjon.

The shots below are leaving the castle and heading down the hill. 

I took this shot just because I liked the granite steps:) 

This last shot is after the bombardements of WW2. 

Hard to believe they were able to rebuid anything at all with all of the rubble. 

A great visit, definetly worth going back and spending a bit more time. 

Believe it or not we didn't see everything:)