Château de Rochecotte, Saint-Patrice, France

Château de Rochecotte, a late 18th century château, is known for its various owners and their many successive rebuilds. Originally, the château belonged to the comte de Rochecotte, who became one of the leaders of the second Chouannerie in Maine and was executed under the French Directory.

On 30 April 1828, one of the later owners, the chevalier René de La Selle de Ligné, sold it to Dorothée de Courlande, duchess of Dino, for 400,000 francs, then a considerable sum. Today Rochecotte serves as a 4-star hotel.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Erika Hartsfield (2 years ago)
Beautiful chateau in a quaint area. Made a stop here to slow down during our otherwise fast paced holiday. Long meals and enjoying the beauty of the grounds is just what we needed.

ana oprescu (2 years ago)
Excellent service, good food, nice pool. Except several times some of the guests at the pool where splashing and being quite loud for such an exquisite place. It felt like at an aqua-park...

Mateo Sossah (2 years ago)
Beautiful castle, lovely staff, I will 100% come back!

Clara Sergent (2 years ago)
Excellent FOOD !!! An amazing place to stay, breathe some fresh air, rest, meet nature, birds and flowers ?! The Chateau is Beautiful. I loved the pastries and the food. The pool is great, and the Staff Amazing !! ?I highly recommend to visit Le Château de Rochecotte.

Louis Sergent (2 years ago)
Excellent stay at Rochecotte, what a magnificent view and atmosphere !

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Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians. The county became a privileged refuge for persecuted Cathars.

The castle, often besieged (notably by Simon de Montfort in 1211 and 1212), resisted assault and was only taken once, in 1486, thanks to treachery during the war between two branches of the Foix family.

From the 14th century, the Counts of Foix spent less and less time in the uncomfortable castle, preferring the Governors' Palace. From 1479, the Counts of Foix became Kings of Navarre and the last of them, made Henri IV of France, annexed his Pyrrenean lands to France.

As seat of the Governor of the Foix region from the 15th century, the castle continued to ensure the defence of the area, notably during the Wars of Religion. Alone of all the castles in the region, it was exempted from the destruction orders of Richelieu (1632-1638).

Until the Revolution, the fortress remained a garrison. Its life was brightened with grand receptions for its governors, including the Count of Tréville, captain of musketeers under Louis XIII and Marshal Philippe Henri de Ségur, one of Louis XVI's ministers. The Round Tower, built in the 15th century, is the most recent, the two square towers having been built before the 11th century. They served as a political and civil prison for four centuries until 1862.

Since 1930, the castle has housed the collections of the Ariège départemental museum. Sections on prehistory, Gallo-Roman and mediaeval archaeology tell the history of Ariège from ancient times. Currently, the museum is rearranging exhibits to concentrate on the history of the castle site so as to recreate the life of Foix at the time of the Counts.

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