The Château de Florac 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 ...
, originally built in the 13th century and then rebuilt in the 17th century, located in the French town of
Florac
Florac is a former commune of the Lozère department in southern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Florac-Trois-Rivières.
History
Medieval
Raymond of Anduze held the barony of Florac and is recorded as using ...
, in
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, ...
, in south-central France.
It originally belonged to the Barony of
Anduze
Anduze (; oc, Andusa) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.Anduze", Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. II, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1878, p. 24 .
The village is at the foot of the Cevennes range, in the limesto ...
and passed through a number of feudal families. The castle was entirely rebuilt in 1652 after the
Wars of Religion
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...
. During the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, the castle was turned into a "salt loft" for storing salt. It was then used as a prison in the 19th century.
Modern use
Since 1976, the castle has been the headquarters of the
Cévennes National Park
Cévennes National Park (french: Parc national des Cévennes) is a French national park located in Southern France, in the mountainous area of Cévennes.
Created in 1970, the park has its administrative seat in Florac at Florac Castle. It is l ...
, who restored it.
The ground and first floors house an exhibition on the National Park (landscape, flora, fauna and activities connected with the park). The information centre has details of hiking, guided tours, accommodation and ''écomusées'' (open-air museums) in the park.
[''Languedoc, Roussillon, Tarn Gorges'' Green Guide, p 175, Michelin (1998) ]
Gallery
image:Florac-château infos.jpg, Information panel
image:Florac-panorama.jpg, Panorama
image:Florac-château-2.jpg, View of the château
image:Chateau Florac Lozere.jpg, The former prison
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
Florac Castle virtual tour.
Lozère
Châteaux in Lozère
Castles in Lozère
Monuments historiques of Occitania (administrative region)
Tourist attractions in Lozère
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