Château de Mauvezin, Mauvezin, France

Château de Mauvezin, occupied since protohistory, was transformed into a castrum in the Middle Ages and later into a castle. The castle was built by Gaston Fébus (also Phoebus) around 1380. Following the merging of Bigorre into the Kingdom of France in 1607, it fell into disuse and was dismantled piece by piece, its stones being used for other buildings.

Today the castle is being restored and houses a historical and folk museum of Bearn and Bigorre.

User Reviews

you who (2 years ago)
Great spot for a picnic with great views and fresh air, there's even a few goats hanging around to keep the children amused.

Brian Skellie (2 years ago)
Wow! What a treasure of history well demonstrated by the guide in period costume! We enjoyed the medieval animations, music and spectacle enthusiastically. The picnic area has breathtaking mountain and valley views. Fun in family!

Boris Modylevsky (2 years ago)
Chateaux de Mavezin is a well preserved castle with a properly organized exhibition that shows medieval life.

Saara Sälpäkivi (2 years ago)
Happened upon this great castle by accident while on a roadtrip. It was well worth the visit since it was beautifully restored and the views were fantastic.

Musa Mailula (3 years ago)
It was an amazing tour of the castle from the medivial period. The castle and the historical ornaments and weapons are well preserved. Parking is available and it's free. The town is in a crime free zone, so no worries about being mugged. There's a souvenir shop inside the castle and the lady that works inside the shops speaks both French and English. The place is not full, you get to take your time observing the displays.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

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Derbent Fortress

Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.

The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.

In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

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