Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Dogs Of Loches

You can find these very life-like dogs guarding the entrance to the Renaissance château at Loches. The statues are apparently a commemoration of the many hunting dogs belonging to the kings who used the castle as a hunting "lodge."

Three of the four dog statues on the steps of the castle.

Loches is very close to St. Aignan (some say as close as twenty minutes by car, but I dispute this) and we've visited it many times. It's a great town, and the medieval and renaissance castles on the heights of the old city are a lot of fun to visit.

I took this picture in 2003 on one of our first visits to Loches with our friend Cheryl from California.
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5 comments:

  1. Susan13 November, 2008 14:35

    We love these dogs, and have some nice photos of them too.

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  2. wcs14 November, 2008 08:41

    susan, you should post the photos sometime... or maybe you have already. I should dig through your archives.

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  3. Evol Kween15 November, 2008 11:58

    ...is it me or are the statues a little creepy? I'm imagining they spring to life when the chateau is threatened? :)

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  4. Anonymous17 November, 2008 06:29

    i love the way they're seated so realistically, with their tails hanging down on the sides of the pediment.

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  5. wcs17 November, 2008 08:30

    evol, not creepy, no. You've seen too many horror movies!

    pj, maybe that's what's creeping evol out... ;)

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