One of our favorite sites was Coucy le Chateau, a medieval city high on a hill. It was built in the 13th century and renovated byViolett leDuc in the 19th. In 1917, the German army dynamited the keep or donjon and the four towers using 28 tons of explosives. During its heyday it was famous for the size of its central tower (the largest in Europe, 35 meters wide and 55 meters tall). It was the pride of its lords, who adopted the staunchly independent rhyme: "Roi ne suis, ne Prince ne Duc ne Comte aussi; Je suis le sire de Coucy" ("I am not a King, nor Prince nor Duke nor Count; I am the Lord of Coucy"). 
View looking out over the valley from Coucy le Chateau
One of our favorite sites was Coucy le Chateau, a medieval city high on a hill. It was built in the 13th century and renovated byViolett leDuc in the 19th. In 1917, the German army dynamited the keep or donjon and the four towers using 28 tons of explosives. During its heyday it was famous for the size of its central tower (the largest in Europe, 35 meters wide and 55 meters tall). It was the pride of its lords, who adopted the staunchly independent rhyme: "Roi ne suis, ne Prince ne Duc ne Comte aussi; Je suis le sire de Coucy" ("I am not a King, nor Prince nor Duke nor Count; I am the Lord of Coucy"). 
View looking out over the valley from Coucy le Chateau
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