Built: 1886
Status: Private
Visitable?: No
Notable: The castle is modelled on the Arco de Santa Maria castle in Spain, it survived WWII bombings
Web: –
Despite the heavy bombings during WWII, Le Havre still has one of its beautiful castles mostly intact; the Gadelles castle.
The “Chateau des Gadelles” is also known as “Porte de Burgos” after the 14th century “Arco de Santa Maria” castle in Burgos, Spain which it was modelled on.
In 1874 the original architect of the current Gadelles castle decided to copy the Arco de Santa Maria castle in Spain and place it on a terrain located in Le Havre bordering the Saint-Adresse town. But like many projects, he ran out of money quickly.
So in 1886 he ended up only copying the gatehouse (in French “Porte”), hence the alias “Porte de Burgos”. So in fact this magnificent castle is “only” a gatehouse…
One notable point is that the iron works and roof were made by none other than Gustave Eiffel, the man who made the famous Eiffel tower.
Despite being only a “gatehouse”, the inside is stylish and elegant.
The ceilings would do any cathedral in the world proud.
The castle is private, and there are no visits possible, but you can admire the many towers and turrets of the castle from the street.
Click here to see other castles in the area.
Related Posts
- 84
Built: 1890Status: PrivateVisitable?: NoNotable: Visible from the beachWeb: - The Le Havre Villa Maritime has a colourful past. Built in 1890 for a wealthy woman, the Villa was sold and taken over several times. The Villa is located alongside the Le Havre Beach, accessible by the beach road and above.… - 82
Chateau de Frefosse in Tilleul, Normandy (right next to Etretat) is one of my favourite castles. It's almost a palace. - 78
The Bretteville Castle at Bretteville-Saint-Laurent in Normandy, France is a little jewel and it can be visited. - 78
Built: 17th centuryStatus: PrivateVisitable?: NoNotable: -Web: - Located in a small beach town resort between Veules-les-Roses and Dieppe, slightly away from the coast, you will see this beautiful castle alongside the winding road. You can't miss it if ever you are driving along that part of the Normandy coast. The castle… - 77
Built: unknownStatus: PrivateVisitable?: NoNotable: -Web: - This little gem is located alongside a long and straight country road. After hours of research, I could not find any information about it. So I do not know when it was built and if it's private (which I'm sure it is). It's not…