Castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Château de Gramont

Château de Gramont was first mentioned in 1329, belonging to the lords of Gramont. The medieval castle was destroyed in 1523 by the troops of Charles V of Spain and reuilt later with Renaissance additions. The gardens and terraces date from the 17th century. In 1793 , the castle and its outbuildings were confiscated to the Nation and a military hospital was installed there for a few months. The building was empty whe ...
Founded: 14th century | Location: Bidache, France

Château d'Urtubie

Château d"Urtubie still belongs to the same family since its construction in 1341. Additions and improvements were carried out in the 16th and 18th centuries and the castle is today a historic monument, furnished and decorated with refinement . The stones of Urtubie tell six centuries of history of the Basque Country . King Louis XI sejourned in the castle in 1463 and Louis XIV raised the domain to the status of vi ...
Founded: 1341 | Location: Urrugne, France

Château de Mauléon

Château de Mauléon was first built in the 11th century. The wooden building was replaced in the 13th century by the strongest castle of area in a strategic location on the road to Spain. Later it was conquered by English army. In 1642 the castle is demolished by order of Louis XIII. In 1648 a partial reconstruction was organized but the castle was finally left abandoned. During the French Revolution it was a pris ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Mauléon-Licharre, France

Château de Blanquefort

Château de Blanquefort is a ruined castle standing on a spur overlooking the Briolance valley. In the ninth century, a first fortification was built. The white stone gave the fort the name 'White Fort', in Latin Blanca Fortis, which evolved into the modern name Blanquefort. During the Plantagenet holding of Aquitaine, the fortifications were expanded into a royal fortress at the end of the thirteenth century b ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Blanquefort, France

Château de Curton

Château de Curton is a castle and a Bordeaux winery producing wines classified as Bordeaux AOC. The castle is situated on the edge of the town of Tizac-Curton, which takes its name from the first Seigneurs (lords) of Curton. The earliest member of the Curton family documented in official texts is Raimond de Curton appearing in the 11th century, appearing as a Lord from the beginning of the 12th century. From the end of ...
Founded: 11th century | Location: Daignac, France

Château de la Trave

Arnaud-Bernard de Preyssac built the Château de la Trave in the early 14th century. It was destroyed in 1456 by the order of Charles VII of France.
Founded: 14th century | Location: Préchac, France

Château de Benauge

Château de Benauge is a medieval fortress in the commune of Arbis. It has been a stately home of the viscounts and earls of Benauges and the viscounts of Bezaume since at least the 13th century. It is one of the most impressive medieval castles in Gironde.
Founded: 13th century | Location: Arbis, France

Château de Carles

Château de Carles was originally laid during the course of the Hundred Years’ War and the building took its current appearance in the early 15th century. It was owned by the De Carle family. In the 17th century, Château de Carles became a beacon for thinkers and literary figures, but was sold as property of the nation during the Revolution, following which many of its buildings were demolished and the estate was reduc ...
Founded: 15th century | Location: Saillans, France

Château de la Mothe-Gajac

Château de la Mothe-Gajac was first mentioned in 1289, but the current square form castle with corner towers was rebuilt after the Hundred Years" War. 
Founded: 15th century | Location: Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, France

Château d’Eck

Built in the late 11th century, Château d’Eck, is located in the commune of Cadaujac. It is one of the most beautiful medieval châteaux in the Bordeaux area. Flanked by four towers and an outer wall several metres tall, it also features admirable machicolations and loopholes. King William VIII of England established the reputation of its wines. His son, Edward, gave the château to the Church in 1287. The Bishops of B ...
Founded: 11th century | Location: Cadaujac, France

Château de Guilleragues

The Château de Guilleragues is a medieval, previously ruined but restored castle in the commune of Saint-Sulpice-de-Guilleragues. This early 14th-century castle, built at the side of a small valley, consists of a long rectangular building, composed of a fortified house flanked by two towers and two watchtowers at either extremity of an annexe of the same height, from 1564. The lower court and the common buildings i ...
Founded: 14th century | Location: Saint-Sulpice-de-Guilleragues, France

Château des Tours

The Château des Tours was built in the 14th century. At that time it had three towers: one had a polygonal interior and was the dungeon, and the others were circular flanking an oblong building on the east and west corners of its south face; then, at the same corners on the north face, there are sentry boxes with Corbels. The oldest part is in the south of the present castle and is also a little higher. North of the ori ...
Founded: 14th century | Location: Montagne, France

Château de Belzunce

The Château de Belzunce is a ruined castle in the commune of Ayherre. Its construction dates from the 13th, 14th and 16th centuries The castle has a trapezoidal plan flanked by four towers, representing two periods of construction, the Middle Ages and the 16th century. During the 16th century, it was redeveloped and finally ruined. During the French Revolution, it was sold as national property. It appears to have b ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Ayherre, France

Château de Caumale

The Château de Caumale is a castle in Escalans It was completed in the 12th century. The two lower towers date from that time, other were erected in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Founded: 12th century | Location: Escalans, France

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Monte d'Accoddi

Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.