The fire- Ravaged French Castle restored by 29 years of volunteers

On the eastern edge of a village in southern France lies the Chateau de la Chèze. Its history dates back to the 12th century, and its story is as dramatic as it is long. The castle was home to Protestants in the 1600s and Jesuits in the early 1800s, but it would become most notorious for an event that took place on July 6, 1944 - the castle was burned to the ground during the Battle of the Cheylard. Yet, this disastrous chapter was not the last. A new one began in 1989 with the formation of the Association for the Preservation of Boutièrois Patrimony.

Over the next 29 years, the association, with the support of the commune and generous donors, worked diligently to restore the castle. Today, the medieval part of the castle is open for visitation from July to August, retaining its original defensive features from various eras, including arrowslits, musket slits, arquebus slits, and cannon ports, still visible.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons