The Château de Thibault de Termes was a medieval castle in the French town of Termes-d'Armagnac. The construction of castle dates from the end of the 13th century and start of the 14th century for Jean, Count of Armagnac. The keep is 36 m high and includes six levels. Strategically built on a hill which dominates the valleys of the Adourand the Arros, it allowed the d'Armagnac family to keep watch over the frontiers of the province of Armagnac.
Its most famous inhabitant was the founder's son, Thibault d'Armagnac, who fought alongside Joan of Arc. He gave evidence on her behalf at her trial.
The castle belonged to the Armagnac-Termes family until the French Revolution, when it was declared a national asset and sold. Various people owned it until it was bought by the commune in the 1960s. The main building having been demolished, the stone of what remained was used to build the railway line between Port Saint Marie à Riscle. The keep became overgrown until it was bought by the commune in the 1960s and, under the Association du Pays vert de d’Artagnan, restored and turned into a museum.
The tower now houses a museum of Gascon life with exhibits on regional history and culture.
References:The Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg is situated in a strategic area on a rocky spur overlooking the Upper Rhine Plain, it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years' War when it was abandoned. From 1900 to 1908 it was rebuilt at the behest of the German kaiser Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist site, attracting more than 500,000 visitors a year.
The first records of a castle built by the Hohenstaufens date back to 1147. The fortress changed its name to Koenigsburg (royal castle) around 1157. The castle was handed over to the Tiersteins by the Habsburgs following its destruction in 1462. They rebuilt and enlarged it, installing a defensive system designed to withstand artillery fire.
The fortification work accomplished over the 15th century did not suffice to keep the Swedish artillery at bay during the Thirty Years War, and the defences were overrun.