The Château de Mirabat is a ruined castle dating from before the Middle Ages in the ''

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

'' of

Seix Seix is a commune in the southwestern French department of Ariège. Population Inhabitants of Seix are called ''Seixois''. Sights * The Château de Mirabat, a Middle Ages castle, known to be in ruins in the 14th century, is in the comm ...

Oust The Oust (; br, Oud) is a river in Brittany, France, right tributary of the Vilaine. It is long. Its source is in the hills between Corlay and Quintin. It flows generally southeast, through the following ''départements'' and towns: * Côtes ...

and Ustou in the Ariège ''

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

'' of France.

History

In excavation at Mirabat, a shard of Roman amphora was found at the bottom of a water tank. It is the oldest of the Ariege's castles and one of the oldest castles in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

. It was probably preceded by a "fire tower" built on the personal orders of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

. Mirabat was probably built to cope with a possible invasion of the Spanish Moors who passed through the pass of Salau, in sight of the castle. It became a garrison of the Viscount of Couserans in the 12th century to strenghten the frontier.

Architecture

The castle was a garrison evidenced by its size and location. It could serve as a grouping of people and there was no stately home. The legendary Mirabat Cave is allows access to the Château de La Garde below. It contained a golden bell that sounded the alarm at the approach of danger. It is a simple cavity that leads to a vertical well after 8 m and after 30 m the course ends with a small passage too narrow for the passage of a man.

Name and location

"Mirabat" is derived from the

Occitan language Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Vall ...

''mira abat'', meaning to "look down". The choice of this strategic location was to monitor two routes leading from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, the Ustou and Martérat valleys, and the Salat valley from the pass of Salau. The castle overlooks the village of Seix.

Castle defensive system

The castle is part of an exceptionally rare defensive system associated with the Château de La Garde. The castle was constructed at a very early date: it was in ruins in the 14th century. Its walls are built of white marble.

Property

The property of the state and the commune, it has been listed since 1995 as a '' monument historique'' 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 (visua ...

References

External links

*
Photos of Mirabat castle
Monuments historiques of Ariège (department) Ruined castles in Occitania (administrative region) {{France-castle-stub