The Château de Mauvezin (also known as Château de Gaston Phoebus) is a restored

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 ...

in the '' commune'' of Mauvezin in the

Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/ Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs ; alts piɾiˈneʊs ) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. The department is bordered by Pyrénées-Atlantiques to t ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

The site, occupied since

protohistory Protohistory is the period between prehistory and written history, during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures that have developed writing have noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in the ...

, was transformed into a ''

castrum ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

'' in the Middle Ages and later into a castle. In 1373, the King of France,

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

, sent his brother, Louis I the Duke of Anjou, to besiege the castle and take it from the English. After six weeks, the English surrendered, the water having run out. The king gave the castle to the Count of Armagnac who saw it disputed by Gaston Fébus, the Prince of Foix and Béarn. The latter acquired it through his marriage to the Counts daughter, Béatrix. Gaston Fébus restored the castle (there is a museum dedicated to him on site) around 1380. With the accession of Henri IV and the merging of

Bigorre Bigorre (; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region k ...

into the Kingdom of France in 1607, it became crown property, fell into disuse and was dismantled piece by piece, its stones being used for local buildings. In 1862, M. Jubinal, '' député'' of Hautes-Pyrénées, bought the castle intending to create a historical museum there, but died before achieving his aim. In 1906, M. Ribal, mayor of Masseube, bought and restored it and created a Gascon museum. It has been listed since 1941 as a ''

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

Description

The inner courtyard within the rectangular '' enceinte'' is an example of medieval military architecture. Attached to the ''enceinte'', the

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

, with its round walk, today houses exhibitions."CHÂTEAU DE MAUVEZIN - MUSÉE GASTON FÉBUS"
Tourisme Hautes-Pyrénées web site. Retrieved 28 November 2018. In the corners of the ''enceinte'', projecting

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es supported structures now disappeared. An arched construction in the middle of the courtyard could have been used as a cistern. The keep is constructed on a flat base of pebble concrete interspersed with lines of bricks, in a typical

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

style. Above the main door are the arms of Gaston Fébus.

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauvezin, Chateau de Castles in Hautes-Pyrénées Historic house museums in Occitania (administrative region) Buildings and structures in Hautes-Pyrénées Museums in Occitania (administrative region) Monuments historiques of Hautes-Pyrénées

History

Description

See also

References

External links