Château de Lavardens, Lavardens, France

Château de Lavardens dominates the skyline of surrounding lands. Originally built in the 12th century, it was later a residence of Counts of Armagnac. The present massive structure dates from 1620 onwards and it was built on the ruins of medieval castle (destroyed by King's soldiers in 1496).

User Reviews

Philip Highley (17 months ago)
Good restaurant. Didn't go into the chateau itself.

Paul Tulip (18 months ago)
This is a beautiful chateau They charge a fairly high price to enter and inside ??? Its a bloody shop!!!!!! Every room is set as a gallery for ' Arty' products !!! To add insult to injury the last room you are directed to is a??? Yes you guessed! A tourist shop selling rubbish unrelated to the Chateau Avoid entering just enjoy the outside

Paul Tulip (18 months ago)
This is a beautiful ancient château Outside it looks brilliant both from a distance and close up Initially thought that the 14+€ entry fee was worth while till we got inside It was a bloody shop!! All rooms had exhibits of art for sale ( not cheap) and had nothing to do with the history or story of this lovely Château At the end -- Guess what? A tourist shop selling stuff totally unrelated to the Chateau itself If I wanted to go shopping I would have gone to a big city outlet So disappointed! !!

TUDOR TEODORESCU (2 years ago)
Nice and quiet little village.

TyA Doan (2 years ago)
The emplacement is amazing. The castle is being taken care of but pretty nice. The expo are a bit ruin out.

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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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