The Château de Mérens 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 ...
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
Mérens
Mérens (Gascon language, Gascon: ''Merens'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Gers Departments of France, department in southwestern France.
Geography
Population
See also
*Château de Mérens
*Communes of the Gers department
Refe ...
in the
Gers
Gers (; oc, Gers or , ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southwestern France. Named after the Gers River, its inhabitants are called the ''Gersois'' and ''Gersoises'' in French. In 2019, it had a population of 191,377. ''
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.
Construction of the castle dates from the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th centuries. It was altered in the early 17th century.
[
The hub of the castle corresponds to the original Gascon structure; the south west square tower belongs to this period of construction. At the start of the 17th century, the castle was furnished with a new system of defence, including a round walk. At the same time, windows were added and the internal layout altered. In the west elements of the mediaeval '']enceinte
Enceinte (from Latin incinctus: girdled, surrounded) is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the position. For ...
'' can be seen in the wine cellar. Works carried out between 1604 and 1613 concentrated on providing windows and on doubling the height of the east façade.
The castle was later converted for agricultural use.[
It has been listed since 2003 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 ...
*Castles in Gers There are numerous castles in the Gers ''département'' of France. Many are little more than ruins and some are barely discernible, while others have been converted into modern homes. Castles or their remains may be found at the following locations ...
References
External links
*
Castles in Gers
Monuments historiques of Gers
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