Losse Castle
The castle Losse is a building from the 16/17. Century near the village of Thonac in the French Périgord . Buildings and gardens were recognized as Monuments historiques in 2007 .
location
The castle stands about 1.5 km northeast of Thonac on a rocky promontory over the left bank of the Vézère on the foundation walls of a medieval fortress .
history
The von Losse family came from Flanders in the 11th century and built a citadel on the river . From that time on, the family members belonged to the feudal hierarchy and later swore eternal allegiance to the King of France.
Jean II, the Marquis de Losse , was a soldier and his unconditional loyalty to the crown strengthened both his military and his social position. At first he was the page of Francis I , later he served all of the sons of Katharina von Medici and finally became the private tutor of Henry IV.
As a staunch Catholic, Jean II was a staunch opponent of the Huguenot general Geoffroy de Vivans , and he often had to hide from his enemies during the wars of religion . For this reason, the Renaissance castle with its protective moat, walls, battlements and machicolation as well as the battlement below the roof approach has extremely defensive features.
At the end of his career, Jean II. De Losse returned to the Périgord as governor of Limousin and Guyenne and began to remodel Losse Castle in the style of the time, but kept its sobriety as a country residence. The origin of today's large Renaissance residential wing was a hall building he built inside the fortress. In addition, the castle's defenses were improved with a view to the use of muskets and cannons. This can be seen from the various openings in the surrounding wall and the barbican .
architecture
The flanked by a round corner tower living quarters (corps de logis) was on the side facing the river side with a balustrade -lined terrace vorgebaut. The visitor reaches the courtyard of the castle via a bridge that has replaced the original drawbridge . The massive gatehouse is the largest of its kind in France.
The large Renaissance residential wing , whose vaulted hall was completed according to an inscription in 1576, is furnished with furniture from the 16th and 17th centuries. It conveys the atmosphere of home decor at the time of the last Valois and the first Bourbons . On display are Flemish and Florentine tapestries as well as a wax portrait of Henry IV in the paneled Green Salon .
Gardens
In the lower garden, two symmetrical beds lined with rosemary are separated by a canal fed by a fountain. There is seating near a small knot garden .
The path leads past a farm building into the terraced gardens, which are kept in the style of the 17th century with their beech and box tree hedges , spar bushes and lavender . When walking through the labyrinth , “windows” open again and again and reveal the castle and the flower beds. A 16th century balcony overlooks the river.
Others
Jean II. De Losse was a contemporary of Montaigne and left behind a number of aphorisms in the castle - carved in stone - reflecting his life experience . Above the portal it says, for example: L'homme fait ce que peut, la fortune ce que veut. (German: "Man does what he can, fate what it wants").
literature
- Susanne Böttcher (Ed.): Périgord, Dordogne, Limousin (= Michelin. The Green Guide ). Travel House Media, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-8342-8995-7 , p. 231.
- Thorsten Droste : Périgord. Dordogne and Quercy. The landscapes in the heart of south-west France. DuMont, Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-7701-4003-6 , p. 163.
Web links
- Chateau et Jardins de Losse (French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thonac - Château de Losse in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Coordinates: 45 ° 1 ′ 45.9 ″ N , 1 ° 7 ′ 44.2 ″ E