The Château de Cazeneuve is a

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 ...

, converted into a comfortable ''

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

'', 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 Préchac in the

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...

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 along the gorges of the River

Ciron The Ciron (; oc, Siron) is a left tributary of the Garonne, in Gironde, Southwest France. It is long. Geography The Ciron rises in the eastern end of the Moors of Gascony, in Landes. It flows north-west, mainly through the moors of Gironde, ...

and the stream of Honburens.

History

The early castle was the former residence of the

Kings of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of Pamplona, later Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial designation Navarre came into use as an alternative name in the l ...

, the property of

King Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

. It was built by

Amanieu VII d'Albret Amanieu VII (died 1326) was the Lord of Albret from 1298 until his death; the son of Amanieu VI. He was an ally of the English and sat on the King's Council during the reigns of Edward I and Edward II of England. As a relative of the Plantagen ...

on a rocky bank. It included in its enclosure the medieval mound of the 11th century preceded by a vast courtyard whose curtain walls protected the town. Due to financial problems King Henri sells the castle in 1583. In the 17th century, the building underwent a major overhaul. The medieval castle was then transformed into a pleasant and ceremonial ''château''. It has since been restored regularly. It was classified 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 ...

'' on 24 September 1965. The castle still belongs to the Sabran-Pontevès family, descendants of the d'Albrets
-

Architecture

The site is made up of

troglodyte A troglodyte is a human cave dweller, from the Greek 'hole, mouse-hole' and 'go in, dive in'. Troglodyte and derived forms may also refer to: Historiography * ''Troglodytae'' or ''Troglodyti'', an ancient group of people from the African Red ...

caves under the castle and large underground medieval cellars. The old parts are the advanced fortifications and the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

s. The buildings are a reconstruction dating from the 17th century. The royal apartments are period furnished.

Park and gardens

The wooded park runs along the Ciron and includes the lake, the mill, the wash house and the bird island. The part between the Ciron, the tributary of the Ciron and the CD 9 road is classified as a historic monument in the same way as the castle.

Gallery

File:Chateau de Cazeneuve Gironde 2133.jpg File:Chateau de Cazeneuve Gironde 2064.jpg File:Chateau de Cazeneuve Gironde 2093.jpg File:Cour du chateau de Cazeneuve Gironde 2087.jpg

References

External links