The Château de Saint-Félix-Lauragais 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

Saint-Félix-Lauragais Saint-Félix-Lauragais (; Languedocien: ''Sant Felitz de Lauragués'') is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. History The village was previously called Saint-Félix-de-Caraman or Carmaing. In 1167 the Cathars held ...

in the

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's ...

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 originally constructed in the 11th century. The first Synod of the Cathar church, known as the

Council of Saint-Félix The Council of Saint-Félix, a landmark in the organisation of the Cathars, was held at Saint-Felix-de-Caraman, now called Saint-Félix-Lauragais, in 1167. The senior figure, who apparently presided and gave the ''consolamentum'' to the assembled Ca ...

was held there in 1167. In the 14th century, the castle was transformed into a country house by a brother of

Pope John XXII Pope John XXII ( la, Ioannes PP. XXII; 1244 – 4 December 1334), born Jacques Duèze (or d'Euse), was head of the Catholic Church from 7 August 1316 to his death in December 1334. He was the second and longest-reigning Avignon Pope, elected by ...

. The complex includes buildings from the 13th to the 18th centuries. Since its founding, it had always been privately owned. However, in early 2012 the then owners agreed to sell the château to a family who intended to restore it into a family home. Only a small portion of it was habitable and it was estimated that 2,850,000 € would be required to make it fully so. In late August 2012, the commune of St-Felix-Lauragais, at the request of the mayor André Rey, intervened in the purchase and compulsorily acquired the château at a cost of 1,240,000 €.Florian Moutafian
"Saint-Félix Lauragais : la commune rachète le château !"
, ''Voix du Midi'', 11 October 2012 Despite the economic crisis affecting France at the time, it is not known how the commune will raise the almost 3,000,000 € needed to make the building safe for the public to use and visit. The mayor simply noted "mais le financement est compliqué" (the financing is complicated). At the time, according to the town hall, the commune had a population of only 1,373.
/ref> It has been listed since 1994 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, ...

References

External links

* Castles in Haute-Garonne Châteaux in Haute-Garonne Monuments historiques of Haute-Garonne {{France-castle-stub

See also

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External links