Château de Brametourte, Lautrec, France

Château de Brametourte, founded in the 11th century, surveys a stunning panorama across 20 hectares of parkland, woods & sun-flowered fields towards the Pyrenean peaks.

Situated in the south of France, close to the award winning bastide village of Lautrec, central to three UNESCO World Heritage sites, Toulouse, Albi and Carcassonne, the tranquil beauty of this ancient home of Barons & Viscounts, belies its turbulent past. The castle was immersed in the religious fervour of Cathars, Knights of the Templar & the Wars of Religion. Sieged during the 1580s, it fell into disrepair and was left forgotten and frozen in time.

Nearly half a millennium later, the Château has been traditionally and ecologically restored; pioneering one of France’s first, self-sustainable medieval castles.

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Château de Brametourte

User Reviews

sue tootyflooty (13 months ago)
Just had the most wonderful weekend at our dear friends wedding, the Chateau is so beautifully and lovingly restored to an exceptional standard, one of the most amazing places we have visited, with very welcoming hosts Alison and Paul, really hope we can revisit in the future.

Neil Mach (13 months ago)
Thoroughly magical

Lisa Hammond (19 months ago)
Stunning medieval chateau in stunning environment.

Chi Morgan (2 years ago)
Brametourte is an astonishing place. The attention to authenticity and detail are remarkable and yet there is every aspect of 21st century comfort. The views are great - all the way across to the Pyrenees on a clear day. Hospitality by the hosts is first class.

Graham Wooldridge (2 years ago)
What an amazing place to stay, if you need to get away from it all and relax this is the place to do it. Paul and Alison are very welcoming and lovely people, make you feel at home.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

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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