Château de Puivert

Puivert, France

The Château de Puivert is a so-called Cathar castle on top of a hill overhanging the village and lake. The construction of the present chateau dates from the 13th century. The first mention is in 1170 when it belonged to the Congost family before the Albigensian Crusade. These lords practised Catharism and were accused as heretics. Then, in November 1210, the castle was subjected for three days to a siege by the army of Thomas Pons de Bruyère, lieutenant of Simon de Montfort. The castle subsequently became the property of the northern barons. All that is left of this older castle is a few sections of wall to the east. A collapse of the natural dam on the lake at the foot of the site caused the destruction of part of the town of Mirepoix, 30 km to the north, in Ariège in 1279. According to legend, this was because a certain Dame Blanche wanted to daydream on the lake shores, which were inaccessible in bad weather. She asked that the water level be lowered and work undertaken to accomplish this goal led to the collapse.

At the start of the 14th century, Thomas de Bruyère (grandson of Pons) and his wife Isabelle de Melun had the new castle built to the east of the old castle. The remains of the old castle are still visible. The coat-of-arms of Isabelle de Melun, who was the daughter of a Grand Chamberlain of France, still exists in the 'new' castle. The building was given a symbolic and picturesque character that can still be seen today.

Today the castle is privately owned. Thanks to its very well preserved keep it has been a location for many films like The Ninth Gate.

The best preserved part of the castle, the square keep measures 15 m by 15 m with a height of 35 m. Originally, it adjoined the manor house. On the west of the tower can be seen pieces of perpendicular masonry, from which it can be deduced that the buildings were joined in this area. The keep comprises

On the fourth floor of the keep is the minstrels' room. It is so called because eight very fine sculptures of musicians with their instruments are represented in the room. Legend has it that the town of Puivert welcomed a great gathering of troubadours in the 12th century. The instruments seen in the room are the bagpipes, flute, tambourin, rebec, lute, gittern, portable organ, psaltery and the bowed hurdy-gurdy.

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Address

La ville, Puivert, France
See all sites in Puivert

Details

Founded: 12th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.catharcastles.info

Rating

3.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne (40,5 km)
Cháteau Comtal (40,5 km)
Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus (40,3 km)
Villefranche-de-Conflent Fortress (45 km)
St. Mary Magdalene Church (16,9 km)
Mirepoix Cathedral (23,7 km)
Château de Peyrepertuse (41,1 km)
Château de Foix (37 km)
Saint-Hilaire Abbey (28,1 km)

User Reviews

Will Frost (8 months ago)
Not much to see and you have to pay to get close to the ruins
Jason King (9 months ago)
The chateau is a ruin, there's not much to see inside the keep, and the signposting and information is rudimentary. But come here anyway, for the wonderful view from the top of the keep.
Philip Stowell (9 months ago)
Seems to be the shy one among these castles. When the clouds are low it gives a completely different impression to the sunny days when the views are stunning. Privately owned, which unfortunately seems to mean it is in need of some work to polish up what is a potentially lovely piece of history; now featured in Kate Mosse's great new book The Burning Chambers.
Martin Cottingham (10 months ago)
Well worth stopping even with the very steep hill, excellent panoramic views and an idea of how life was 700 years ago.
Bon Voyage! con Juan Pablo Requena (12 months ago)
A medieval fortress. At the beginning it seems to be “normal” or “the same”, but there are dungeons very good preserved where you can see how was the real life. If you are singer do not hesitate on going an try to sing in the rooms, the acoustic is wonderful.
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