The Château Moncade is a ruined castle in the commune of Orthez in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département. Construction of the castle was started in 1242 by the Gaston VII, Viscount of Béarn (the keep, known as the tour de Moncade) taking advantage of the absence of Edward III. When the King returned, Gaston was imprisoned and had to swear allegiance before being released. He subsequently reneged.
It was the residence of the Kings of Béarn when their capital was Orthez. Standing on top of a hill above the town, it afforded views of the surrounding county over a radius of more than 30 kilometres. The central tower was surrounded by high curtain walls and moats up to 15 metres deep. Entry was by a drawbridge.
In the 14th century, Gaston Phébus, Count of Foix, altered it between 1368 and 1375. The castle was burned during the Wars of Religion in 1569. It was sold during the French Revolution to dismantlers who largely demolished the curtain wall.
The only remains are the keep (in a good state of preservation), the moats (in course of restoration) and remnants of the curtain wall. The castle is open to the public (paying) and contains, among other items, a model of the site.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.