Bellême

Bellême stands on a height overlooking the wooded country of the Perche. Its castle and fortified town were an important seat of the lords who held this borderland between Normandy and the lands of the French crown. The Hundred Years' War brought repeated destruction: English forces occupied Bellême continuously from 1417 until 1449. The town later retained a prominent place in the affairs of the Perche; its estates met here in 1588 and 1614, long after the medieval struggles over the castle had ended.