When the moat of the château of Le Chatelier was drained recently advantage was taken to do some running repairs to the entrance bridge.
Since the moat was re-filled the water level has been rather lower than it was; this allows visitors to truly appreciate the defensive nature of the moat, rock face and wall. It has also exposed an entrance portal below the working drawbridge (I don’t remember it being there before the moat was recently drained).
Built in 11th and 12th centuries the château was one of the most fortified buildings in the South Touraine region. It was in the border war zone of the territories of Aquitaine, belonging to the Plantagenet Kings of England, and the Kingdom of France. The fort had a double wall, flanked by towers and defended by a deep ditch that was filled with water on demand by means of canals, of which two remain today. The stone for the walls came from the moat surrounding the château . Around 1770, one of the château’s original two drawbridges was dismantled and this entrance, recently repaired, now allows vehicle access.
Social history in the Touraine ~ Central France 