The Château de Caen in Normandy was built around 1060 by William the Conqueror, and the article names no architect or style. Henry I later added Saint George's church, a keep in 1123 and a large hall. The site covers 13.6 acres (5.5 hectares) and is described as one of the largest castles in Western Europe.
The keep was a large square with round corner towers, and the National Convention ordered it demolished in 1793. Curtain wall sections are partly 12th century, but most are 15th century. The two gates each had a barbican. The dry moat still provides a walking circuit.
Bombing in 1944 seriously damaged the castle after wartime barracks use. Excavations began in 1946, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts is installed inside, with the Musée de Normandie. It was listed as a monument historique in 1997, and rampart restoration began in March 2004.
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