Montaigne Castle

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Exterior view of Montaigne Castle

The Montaigne Castle ( French : Château de Montaigne ) is located in the commune of Saint-Michel-de-Montaigne , in the Dordogne department , Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in south-west France . At the place between Libourne and Bergerac , a castle has been documented since the 14th century, which has been rebuilt and expanded several times. The building that stands there today was completely rebuilt after a fire in 1885 in a mix of styles between medieval and neo-renaissance . In the 15th and 16th centuries it was the residence of the family of the French philosopher Michel de Montaigne , the founder of essay writing . Only the philosopher's round library tower remains of its castle in its original state, classified as a monument historique since March 28, 1952 . Today's castle received this rating on October 29, 2009.

Michel de Montaignes "Library Tower"

history

The property was acquired in 1477 by Michel de Montaigne's great-grandfather , Ramon Eyquem, who had become a prosperous fish and wine merchant in Bordeaux . As "Seigneur de Montaigne" ( German : Herr von Montaigne ) he settled here with his family and bequeathed the generous property to his children and grandchildren.

In 1860 it was made by Pierre Magne , a minister under Napoleon III. , as a retirement home. After the fire of 1885, his daughter Marie Thirion Mautauban arranged for the castle to be rebuilt. Today the property is still privately owned by the Mähler-Besse family (6th and 7th generation after Pierre Magne).

tower

The "library tower ", La Tour de Montaigne , located south of the main building , consists of a large and a smaller round tower with a small residential building. On the ground floor there is a chapel, further up on the first floor, accessible by a stone circular staircase, the round room Michel de Montaignes. Here the philosopher died. His library was on the top floor.

A Latin inscription on the wall of the library reads in German:

“ In the year of salvation 1571, at the age of 38, on February 28th, his birthday, Michel de Montaigne, long tired of serving in court and in public offices, withdrew in full manhood into the lap of learned virgins in peace and free of all worries, when fate allows him to complete the little remainder of his life, which has largely passed; he has dedicated this place, this precious refuge inherited from his ancestors, to his freedom, his tranquility and his leisure. "

Web links

Commons : Montaigne Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ plan of the domain (fr / en / es)
  2. ↑ History of the castle with old drawings, accessed August 31, 2011 (fr)
  3. ↑ Official website of Montaigne Castle ( Memento of the original from April 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.chateau-montaigne.com
  4. ^ Document of the Ministry of Culture accessed on August 31, 2011 (fr)

Coordinates: 44 ° 52 ′ 41 ″  N , 0 ° 1 ′ 48 ″  E