The Château d'Aurignac is a ruined 13th century
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
Aurignac
Aurignac (; oc, Aurinhac) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France, close to the Pyrénées. It was the seat of the former canton of Aurignac (population 4,160), which was composed of 19 communes. It is part of the anci ...
in the
Haute-Garonne
Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's ...
''
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 on a hill before 1240 by Bernard V,
Counts of Comminges
This is a list of counts of the County of Comminges.
Counts of Comminges
House of Comminges
House of Lescun
''In 1462, the king of France Louis XI detached the county of Comminges from the royal domain and gave it to his friend.''
* 1462 ...
, and the village developed around it.
Henry IV ordered the destruction of the castle in the early 17th century and, although it was still partly inhabited in 1627, it fell into disuse not long afterwards. All that remains today are the church, a well-restored keep on the peak of the hill and some of the ramparts, which have been incorporated into houses.
The property of the commune, it has been listed since 1979 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, ...
.
See also
*
List of castles in France
This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Region and Department.
;Notes:
# The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are properly called palaces, mansions or vine ...
References
External links
Ministry of Culture photo from before 1925
Castles in Haute-Garonne
Monuments historiques of Haute-Garonne
Houses completed in the 13th century
Ruined castles in Occitania (administrative region)
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