Biron Castle
The Biron castle is located in the center of the village Biron in the Dordogne department, the old cultural landscape of the French Périgord . Erected on a rock spur above the Lède , it was included in the list of Monuments historiques in France in 1928.
history
Biron Castle is the ancestral seat of the Gontaut-Biron family , who resided here since the 12th century and traditionally adhered to the politically understood Protestantism . In 1211 the castle was taken over by the Cathars , but in the following year it was besieged and conquered by Simon IV. De Montfort in the Albigensian Crusade as the northernmost refuge for the Cathars. During the Huguenot Wars (1562–1598), the Baron von Biron supported the Huguenot leader Heinrich von Navarra , but only until he was promoted to royal convert . A high point in the family's history was the year 1598, when the now King Henry IV bestowed the dignity of duke and peerage on his confidante Charles de Gontaut and thus the barons of Biron. However, the ambitious duke forged a plot against the king and was beheaded for high treason in 1602.
Building
From the 12th to the 20th century, 24 generations of the Gontaut-Biron family built the castle, which is presented in a corresponding number of styles. Three epochs can be clearly distinguished: the fortified wing from the Middle Ages in the middle, which is followed by an extension from the Renaissance , and the two-storey chapel from the 16th century.
A staircase leads from the lower courtyard of the palace to the courtyard of honor, which is enclosed by residential buildings . The northern wing of the building was added to the donjon . In the southern wing there is the state hall , which has a keel-shaped roof structure. An open loggia leads into the park between the two wings .
In 1978 the Dordogne department acquired Biron Castle, which had not been inhabited since the French Revolution . Since then, major restoration work has been carried out and an art center with changing exhibitions has been set up.
literature
- Susanne Böttcher (Ed.): Périgord, Dordogne, Limousin (= Michelin. The Green Guide ). Travel House Media, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-8342-8995-7 , p. 92.
Web links
- Château de Biron - photos + information (French)
- Biron Castle as a 3D model in SketchUp's 3D warehouse
- Château de Biron - Photos and information (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biron - Château in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Coordinates: 44 ° 37 ′ 55.9 ″ N , 0 ° 52 ′ 20.9 ″ E