Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Castles of Luxembourg: Larochette



The second castle on our tour sits on a promontory above lovely Larochette village, about 25 km north of Luxville.
and there it is
Here's a quick reminder of where we are:
B) Bourglinster  C) Larochette
I guess the 11th century was a good one for castle-building, because it's the estimated original construction period for Larochette castle, too.  But this one really is "just" a ruin, except for the restoration of one of the family houses (partially visible in in the pictures above).  The castle achieved ruin status beginning in the 16th century when struck by a fire.  
nice grounds
As this was still early in our castle journey, we were game for the inexpensive self-guided tour (or self-guided wander is really more like it).


One of the fun things about ruins is climbing around on them.  This picture needs more climbing kids.
pink-shirt-Dad
So you're wandering blissfully, peacefully through the castle grounds, appreciating the construction intricacies, admiring the views, reflecting upon history, medieval times, feudalism, when you casually glance to your left and...




Wait for it....









........













ACK!  And it's life-sized. 
Soon to be followed by...
the hubby, one would presume
The restored manor was filled with "interesting" modern art as well.  It's a shame, really, because the interior was pretty nifty otherwise.  I mean, I like art as much as the next gal, but why couldn't they just let the castle be interesting just by being a castle?  Wikipedia currently states the manor is filled with period artwork.  Yeah, not anymore.  Perhaps it's a temporary exhibition.  One can hope.




The well.  We like looking down these. 
sometimes a ruin needs a little help to keep it from becoming more ruined
Larochette
We spotted a path leading up to the castle, presumably from the village, and another little tower flying the Luxembourgish flag across the valley (you can barely see it in the photo above) with some people out on it.  Those might be fun hikes to go back and try in the future.

Maybe we'll call ahead about the art next time.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Rosie!
It's been fun to travel vicariously across Europe with you. This little village is so sweet and the "art"....well unfortunate (esp the obese woman, yuck!). I'm sure the kids are loving their travels... brings back sweet memories. One of my all time favorite castles is in Carcassonne , France. It's amazing...
Take Care, thanks for the blogs,
Noelani

Pete and Rosie said...

Hey, Noey! It's good to know you are still reading these. It really makes me happy!

Yeah, unfortunately the woman wasn't the worst of it.

My in-laws have recently been to Carcassonne as well. And we have the board game so it would be cool to see it someday! :)