The Château d'Apcher is a ruined feudal

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' of Prunières in the

Lozère Lozère (; oc, Losera ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of France. The castle was built and altered in the 11th century, with further building in the 12th and 14th centuries. It was the ancient seat of the Marquis d'Apchier, one of the eight

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

s of

Gévaudan Gévaudan (; oc, Gavaudan, Gevaudan) is a historical area of France in Lozère ''département''. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni. History After the conquest of Gaul, the Romans preserved the cap ...

. It was abandoned bit by bit during the 17th century. Today, it is a ruin with only the

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

still intact.

Location

The castle is situated in the north of

, between

Saint-Chély-d'Apcher Saint-Chély-d'Apcher (; oc, Sanch Ale dels Apchièrs) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. History Its inhabitants are called Barrabans. This name was allotted to the inhabitants of Saint-Chély-d'Apcher during the Hundre ...

and

Le Malzieu-Ville Le Malzieu-Ville (; oc, Lo Malasiu) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France. Medieval ramparts. Church. Tourist office. Leisure Park along the river Truyère. Notable people * Vital de Lestang (1588-1621), Bishop of Carcasson ...

, not far from the

Truyère The Truyère () is a river in south-western France, right tributary of the Lot. Its source is in the south-western Massif Central, north of Mende. It flows generally west through the following ''départements'' and towns: * Lozère: Le Malzieu ...

. The baron of Apchier ruled over the whole of the northern Aubrac plain, surrounded by the baronies of Peyre and Mercœur. However, the main castle, at Apcher, was not in the centre of the barony but in its east.

History

The first record of the castle is from 1180, when Garin de Châteauneuf,

seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (or ...

of Apcher and co-seigneur of Châteauneuf-Randon, paid homage to the Bishop of Mende, Aldebert III du Tournel. The son of a family from Randon, Garin had married Alix d'Apchier, the last inheritor of the first Apchier family. The castle is the property of the ''commune''. It has been listed since 1983 as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...

References

External links

*
Association des amis du château
Lozère Châteaux in Lozère Castles in Lozère Ruined castles in Occitania (administrative region) Monuments historiques of Occitania (administrative region) {{France-castle-stub

Location

History

See also

References

External links