Arques Castle
| Arques Castle | ||
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 The Arques Castle |
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| Creation time : | 1284-1316 | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Noble | |
| Construction: | House stone | |
| Place: | Arques | |
| Geographical location | 42 ° 57 '11 " N , 2 ° 22' 1" E | |
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The Arques Castle ( French Château d'Arques , Occitan Castèl d'Arcas ) is the ruins of a medieval castle in what is now the Aude department in the French region of Occitania . Although the castle is in the Pays Cathare , it is not one of the Cathar castles due to its late construction . It has been classified as a Monument historique since August 16, 1887 .
location
The small community of Arques is about 44 kilometers (driving distance) south of Carcassonne . The village of Couiza is about 11 kilometers to the west. The town and castle of Termes are about 30 kilometers to the northeast. The castle is located about 400 meters west of today's Arques.
history
In the 11th century Arques belonged to the Abbey of Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse , a little later the place was owned by the Seigneurs de Termes , who in turn were subjects of the Vice Counts of Carcassonne . A fortified place is mentioned in a document in 1154, but at that time there is no mention of a castle.
In 1211 or 1217, after conquering Termes Castle , Simon de Montfort turned towards Arques ( Villa de Arquis ) and set fire to the place, which at that time probably had no castle, but was just a fortified village ( castrum ). In 1231, part of the Razès region, including Arques, was owned by one of his former comrades in arms: Pierre de Voisins. His son Gilles de Voisins began building the current castle in 1284, which was located on a shepherd's path towards the higher mountain regions of the Corbières . The construction work was finished in 1316.
In 1518 Françoise de Voisins, the last heiress of the family estate, married Jean de Joyeuse and moved to Couiza on his property. The Arques Castle was abandoned and attacked by the Huguenots in 1575 and partially destroyed.
architecture
The castle consists of an almost square outer wall with a side length of a good 50 meters. The servants' quarters, a chapel and probably the stables were located in the corner buildings .
The powerful square Donjon is on the center of the complex and has four with narrow embrasures provided round towers in the corners. It has a side length of about twelve meters and a height of a good 25 meters. The four floors of the defense and residential tower , each consisting of only one large room, were connected to one another via a narrow and therefore difficult to take spiral staircase in the front right corner tower. The wooden intermediate floors in one of the corner towers have been removed so that one has a clear view from below to the very top. In the other two there are small benches on each floor. The top floor served as the last place of retreat in the event of an attack. The two lower floors have high ribbed vaults , while the upper two floors are finished with beamed ceilings. The two middle rooms could be heated by open wall chimneys in winter.
The stone processing is - apart from the upper floor - exceptionally precise. Such a building was previously unknown in the south of France and may have been inspired by models in Île-de-France or Normandy . The entire area of the vice-county of Carcassonne belonged to the French crown domain from 1224 , and northern French influences were increasingly effective in both sacred and profane architecture.
literature
- Henri-Paul Eydoux: Châteaux des pays de l'Aude. In: Congrès archéologique de France. 131e session. Pays de l'Aude. 1973. Société Française d'Archéologie, Paris 1973, pp. 208-212.
- Lucien Bayrou: Le château d'Arques. Guide you visiteur. Center d'archéologie médiévale du Languedoc, Carcassonne 1989.
Web links
- Château d'Arques on the website of the Association des sites du Cathar (English)
- Photos, floor plans and tooltips to the castle (English)
- Photos and brief information
- Photos from Base Mémoire
- Arques Castle as a 3D model in SketchUp's 3D warehouse
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry of the castle ruins in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)