Montaner Castle
| Montaner Castle | ||
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 Montaner Castle |
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| Creation time : | 1374-1380 | |
| Castle type : | Höhenburg, spur location | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | High nobility | |
| Construction: | Brick | |
| Place: | Montaner | |
| Geographical location | 43 ° 20 ′ 57 " N , 0 ° 0 ′ 45" W | |
| Height: | 332 m | |
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The castle Montaner is a medieval castle ruins in the French commune of Montaner in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine .
location
The spur castle, built in the 14th century, is located on a hill at the confluence of the Lys darré and the Lys daban not far from the center of the municipality of Montaner im Béarn. The difference in height between the hilltop and the valleys surrounding it on three sides is around 90 m.
history
Gaston Fébus (1331-1391), Count of Foix and Viscount of Béarn , wanted on the one hand to demonstrate armed neutrality towards the parties involved in the Hundred Years War , the Kingdom of England and the French crown. On the other hand, he had plans for a contiguous territory between his two capitals, Orthez and Foix , which his rival, the Count of Armagnac , wanted to prevent. From Montaner Castle, Gaston Fébus was always in a position to invade Bigorre , which had been in English possession since the Peace of Brétigny , on the other hand, due to its geographical location, to guard the valley of the Adour River and to seal off any incursion route from enemy troops. August 3, 1374 marked the beginning of work on the new castle near Montaner. The old castle was demolished and rebuilt, and the keep was increased. On December 25, 1375, the work was in full swing. Specialists from Foix, Pierre Terrée and Blaise Audoin, Sicard de Lordat, who was responsible for the military system, and the master carpenter Pierre Doat, had set up ovens for the production of 100,000 bricks per year as building material. In December 1379, Gaston Fébus considered his new fortress to be ready for use, although work continued into the following year. However, it should not become a military arena.
Between 1379 and 1380 the Bigorre became part of the Béarn-Foix territory after the English troops withdrew. In 1425 Bigorre officially became part of County Foix. The rivalry between Béarn-Foix and Armagnac was resolved by marriage. At the end of the 15th century, Foix-Béarn-Bigorre became part of the Kingdom of Navarre . Montaner had initially served its purpose as a border fortress in its scooters. In addition, there was technical progress, which meant that medieval fortresses were hopelessly inferior to the use of cannons. Nevertheless, a century later, the castle returned to the interests of the rulers in the Béarn. Jeanne d'Albret (1528–1572), Queen of Navarre, introduced the Reformation in her country and Montaner Castle served as a guard against a royal Catholic army that might invade the Adour Valley. For this reason, repairs were made from 1564, which dragged on until the beginning of 1569. The Third Huguenot War did not leave the Béarn without a trace, but Montaner Castle was spared fighting. Jeanne d'Albret's son, Henry IV (1553–1610), became King of France in 1589, but the Reformed Church remained the denomination of Béarn. His son and successor to the French throne, Louis XIII. (1601–1643), had other plans. In 1620 he went to Pau , the capital of the Béarn, to incorporate the Béarn into the French crown and at the same time to re-establish the Catholic religion throughout the country. Some Protestant aristocrats tried a revolt and believed they could entrench themselves in medieval castles like the one in Montaner. The Duke of Épernon was charged with putting down the uprising. His troops invaded Montaner, stormed the castle, set the castle buildings on fire and razed them to the ground.
In 1627 the castle was transferred to the Montesquiou-d'Artagnan family, who in 1641 received permission from the king to tear down the castle walls and fill in the moats. But the Parliament of Navarre resisted the project with might and triumphed by having a prison installed on the first floor of the keep. The family kept the castle until 1787, which in 1806 came into the hands of a certain Mr. Duplessy, whose aim was to use the building as a quarry and to sell the bricks as building material. He quickly started with the parts that were easiest to tear down, parapets and battlements . The residents of Montaner protested against the demolition, and the prefecture of the département intervened. A lengthy legal process began, which in 1840 led to the keep being classified as a Monument historique and ending in 1854 with the Départementrat buying the ruins. It was now a ruined castle because Duplessy had continued his destructive work during the negotiations. The new owner now wanted to convert the former prison on the ground floor of the keep into a room for the justice of the peace and build a staircase to the first floor in order to furnish rooms for the town hall. Work began in 1856 but was never completed. As a result, the keep experienced various rescue operations. The stairs were repaired between 1926 and 1931, and the new roof was completed in 1938. The rest of the castle complex gradually fell into disrepair, the inner courtyard was used as pasture, and the vegetation took possession of everything except the keep. With the establishment of the Pierre et Vestiges association in 1968, further decline could finally be stopped. The first task of the club was to save the games that had not yet been classified. With the help of young volunteers, the inner courtyard and the wells were cleared of rubble and the trenches cleaned. A kiln for the production of 6,000 bricks was put into operation nearby. As a result of the first successful restorations, the entire site was classified as a Monument historique, which prompted the Départementrat and the Ministry of Culture to provide a larger sum to restore the keep.
Todays use
The ring wall of the castle and the ground floor of the keep are available for free viewing. The top of the keep can be climbed on a guided tour. During the summer months, various events are held to illustrate life in the Middle Ages to visitors, such as: B. Introduction to pottery or medieval calligraphy , demonstrations of medieval crafts, demonstrations of fighting, introduction to archeology, introduction to archery. The castle is open to visitors from April to October.
description
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The castle consists of a square keep and a circular wall with 20 wall surfaces, which are reinforced by buttresses . Remains of the weir core can still be seen. The wall ring has a circumference of 68 meters and encloses an interior space of 5,000 m², in which various buildings including a fountain and a windmill used to be. Only the foundations of these buildings can be seen. Today access is via a wall opening next to the former main entrance. The keep still reaches a height of 40 meters. It has five floors, four of which are illuminated through twin windows. At the level of the lowest level, a cross-shaped loopholes reminds of the building's defensive function. A chiseled plaque with a coat of arms can be seen below. The coat of arms is divided into four fields and represents Foix-Béarn, identifiable by the cows for the Béarn in the top right and bottom left fields and the vertical bar for the County of Foix in the other two fields. Above is a motto in Occitan language , which is Febus me fe ( German Febus has created me ). The saying can be interpreted in two ways, "Fébus had the castle built" or "Fébus united the two territories". The original is very damaged and was replaced by a copy in 1979. It can be viewed inside the keep on the first floor to the right of the fireplace. The entrance to the tower is located below the coat of arms. The first room after entering is equipped with a barrel vault that supports the upper levels. A path over the round wall can be started from here. The entire castle has been classified as a Monument historique since March 18, 1980.
Film set
The Montaner Castle was used, among other things, as a backdrop for the film Le Monde Vivant , shot in 2003 under the direction of Eugène Green .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Château de Montaner ( fr ) visites.aquitaine.fr. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ↑ Sa construction au XIVème siècle ( fr ) Les Amis du Château de Montaner. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ↑ a b You XIVème au XXème siècle ( fr ) Les Amis du Château de Montaner. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ↑ Donjon du château de Montaner ( fr ) visites.aquitaine.fr. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ↑ Enceinte polygonale du château de Montaner ( fr ) visites.aquitaine.fr. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ↑ Ecusson du donjon du château de Montaner ( fr ) visites.aquitaine.fr. Archived from the original on December 27, 2017. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ^ Château ( fr ) Ministry of Culture and Communication . Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ↑ Ecole et cinéma 68 - Le Monde vivant ( fr , PDF) Canopé académie de Strasbourg. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
