The Château de Florac is a
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
, originally built in the 13th century and then rebuilt in the 17th century, located in the French town of
Florac
Florac is a former commune of the Lozère department in southern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Florac-Trois-Rivières.
History
Medieval
Raymond of Anduze held the barony of Florac and is recorded as usin ...
, in
Lozère
Lozère (; ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the ...
, in south-central France.
It originally belonged to the Barony of
Anduze
Anduze (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in southern France.Anduze", Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. II, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1878, p. 24 .
The village is at the foot of the ...
and passed through a number of feudal families. The castle was entirely rebuilt in 1652 after the
Wars of Religion
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent ...
. During the
French Revolution, the castle was turned into a "salt loft" for storing salt. It was then used as a prison in the 19th century.
Modern use
Since 1976, the castle has been the headquarters of the
Cévennes National Park
Cévennes National Park () is a List of national parks of France, French national park located in Southern France, in the mountainous area of Cévennes.
Created in 1970, the park has its administrative seat in Florac at Florac Castle. It is loca ...
, who restored it.
The ground and first floors house an exhibition on the National Park (landscape, flora, fauna and activities connected with the park). The information centre has details of hiking, guided tours, accommodation and ''écomusées'' (open-air museums) in the park.
[''Languedoc, Roussillon, Tarn Gorges'' Green Guide, p 175, Michelin (1998) ]
Gallery
image:Florac-château infos.jpg, Information panel
image:Florac-panorama.jpg, Panorama
image:Florac-château-2.jpg, View of the château
image:Chateau Florac Lozere.jpg, The former prison
See also
*
List of castles in France
This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Regions of France, region and Departments of France, department.
;Notes:
# The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are p ...
References
External links
*
Florac Castle virtual tour.
Châteaux in Lozère
Castles in Lozère
Monuments historiques of Lozère
Tourist attractions in Lozère
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