Château de la Rivière

Situated in the Cotentin region, between Carentan and Saint-Lô, in the Regional Natural Park of the Cotentin and Bessin marshes, stand the imposing ruins of an ancient medieval fortification.

The Château de la Rivière was built around 1090 by Odon de Conteville, half-brother of William the Conqueror, to protect the East from the River Vire. After a few evolutions over the centuries, the castle was unfortunately the victim of the bombardments of the Second World War and gradually collapsed to become the one we can see today. In the 1960s, the castle aroused renewed interest through the installation of a campsite and then a naturist centre when it was the property of the camping club de France.

"A paradise for storks": Privately owned since 2006, the castle is now renowned as a stork paradise. Attracted by the mild and humid climate and the aquatic richness offered by the marsh, the river castle has become a nesting place for these black and white waders. Grouped in two groups, the younger ones migrate to warmer destinations for the winter and the older ones keep watch all year round on this site marked by history.

The Château de la Rivière and the surrounding fields are privately owned, so it is important to respect the place when going to observe the storks.