Would French officials permit ordinary citizens to lay claim to a deserted castle whose ownership is long lost?
Bottom line: I’m looking for a region of France where an undiscovered castle could be found that did not belong to any current persons. Any direction or ideas you can give me would be appreciated. ANSWER: Hi . . . again . . . William! Thanks for the added background on your research efforts. Not easy or simple or quick! You biggest challenge is history! The advent of gunpowder in the Middle Ages, first recorded in Europe in the mid 13th century, meant a change in the purpose of a castle. It went from being purely a military building to becoming increasingly a residential one. From the Renaissance onward, this loosened the military importance to more of an aesthetic approach in construction such as with the series of highly decorated castles built (or rebuilt) in France along the Loire River starting from the 15th century. Those original castle fortifications were previously deemed impregnable. With this “technology change”, these castles proved inadequate in the face of gunpowder. This
