Château de Guilleragues

Saint-Sulpice-de-Guilleragues, France

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 in the north east also date from the 16th century.

Château de Guilleragues was built in many stages and went through many changes in its history. The oldest parts and foundations date back to the 12th century. Little is known about the earliest dates and status of the structure. More obvious are parts built in the 14th and 16th century.

The building must have been two or three separate structures initially, which were joined at some later point. The best known occupants of the castle are the De Lavergne family, who owned the castle in the 16th and 17th centuries. In fact, a major change took place in the 1560s, where windows were enlarged and added, doors where enlarged and many decorative features were added, changing the castle from a fortified structure with defense as its main function to a livable, more luxurious stately home.

The residence belonged in the 17th century to Gabriel-Joseph de Lavergne, Vicomte de Guilleragues, a brilliant diplomat and author of the Les Lettres portugaises. Privately owned, it has been listed since 1954 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Late Capetians (France)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Lionel, Jean-Michel Clergeaud (5 years ago)
Very beautiful castle. Too bad we can't visit it.
Daniele Danièle (6 years ago)
Thomas Saint Jean (7 years ago)
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.