The Castle of the Rock Goyon (French: La Roche-Goyon, Breton: Roc’h-Goueon), is a castle in the northeast of Brittany, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southeast of Cap Fréhel and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of Saint-Malo, in the commune of Plévenon, Côtes-d’Armor.
It is a famous tourist attraction of the bay of Saint-Malo and the Emerald Coast (France) Côte d’Émeraude. This impressive castle was built on a small piece of land at the Bay of the Fresnay in the 14th century. Various films have been sH๏τ at this site, including The Vikings (1958) by Richard Fleischer with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis. It also features in the French band Manau’s video for “La Tribu de Dana.” A much larger, fictionalized version of the fort appears in the 2015 animated film April and the Extraordinary World.
The castle was built in the 14th century by the Lord of Matignon, Etienne III Gouÿon. The castle’s construction began in the 1340s and its dungeon dates from 1365–1370.
Following the return from exile of the Duke of Brittany Jean IV in 1379, the castle was besieged by Bertrand Du Guesclin. The castle was attacked and taken a second time during the Wars of Religion in the sixteenth century. After this defeat, the castle was abandoned. It was not until the 18th century, under Louis XIV, that the castle resumed its strategic interest and was fortified with defensive bastions.
It remained in service until the end of the First Empire when the evolution of military techniques led to its obsolescence. From 1892, it was sold to various private owners before being bought by the historian Frédéric Joüon Des Longrais in 1931 who, having a lifelong pᴀssion for archeology, undertook restoration which took over twenty years.
The castle of the Roche Goyon was classified as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture in 1925.[1]
Electricity finally arrived at the castle in 2015.
The fort is located on a rocky cape, near Cap Fréhel, in the town of Plévenon.
This site was chosen because of its favorable location – being difficult for an enemy to attack due to the lack of easy access. The cliffs, on which it is built, gave excellent protection from any attempted invasion from the sea and provided warning of an approaching enemy; clear views of the English Channel, the Emerald Coast, and a large part of the Bay of St-Malo.
Construction materials were easily accessible with granite coming from the heart of Brittany, and sandstone directly recovered from the surrounding cliffs. There are traces of old quarries on the coast, whose connection to the castle is revealed by toponyms such as “Port Taillé” which can be found on the cadastre, and wood was plentiful from the many forests that existed nearby in medieval times.
The fort was an important strategic point since it was not far from the trade routes connecting Saint-Malo, Normandy, and the Channel Islands.
