The site of the Château de Pézenas, a ruined medieval

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 French town of Pézenas, in the '' département'' of Hérault. A castle is first mentioned on the site, a butte just outside and dominating the town, around 990. However, a plaque on the site claims that it was founded by the Celts in 407BC and that the site was also a fortress of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

. A document of 1118 records that the Count of Béziers, Bernard Athon, ceded the ''castellum'' of Pézenas to his son, Raimon.

Louis VIII Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

, in 1226, and

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

in 1252, stayed here. The castle became a royal castellany in 1262. The latest castle was originally built by the

Duc de Montmorency Duke of Montmorency was a title of French nobility that was created several times for members of the Montmorency family, who were lords of Montmorency, Val-d'Oise, Montmorency, near Paris. History The first creation was in 1551 for Anne de Mont ...

, François de Montmorency in 1575 on the domain of Granges des Près. It had seven towers, one of which was used as a chapel. The river, la Peyne, flowed along its walls. During the 17th century,

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

, sworn enemy of the Duc de Montmorency Henri II, had promised to abolish the States of the Languedoc, fearing they were too strong and independent of the kingdom of Louis XIII. Following Henri's revolt at the head of the Languedoc States, in 1632 (or 1633, according to tourist information at the site), Richelieu ordered the castle to be destroyed. The inhabitants of Pézenas, so proud of their castle, were humiliated to have to demolish it themselves. Louis XIII gave the materials from the castle, as well as the site, to the Pézenas consuls. The bell, cast by Simon Faillet in 1587, was moved to the top of the bell tower at the Collégiale Saint-Jean church. (The tower later collapsed, in 1733, and had to be rebuilt.) Passing through the town in 1660, Louis XIV remarked of the castle, "''En vérité, Messieurs, c'est grand dommage d'avoir fait démolir cette importante place.''" ("In truth, Sirs, it is a great pity to have demolished this important place.") The gateway and the surrounding walls were entirely rebuilt in the early years of the 21st century. The castle site is open to the public on special occasions such as concerts and theatrical presentations.

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