The Château de Bouvées is a ruined

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

Labrihe Labrihe is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France. Geography Population See also *Communes of the Gers department The following is a list of the 461 communes of the Gers department of France. The communes cooperate in ...

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. The castle was built between 1530 and 1560 by Monseigneur de Saint-Julien, Bishop of Aire-sur-Adour, on the ruins of an earlier structure. At the time of 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 ...

, it was sold as a national asset. The building consisted of three wings enclosing an inner courtyard, flanked in the corners by round towers. Only the east and south parts remain, the agricultural buildings attached to the ancient walls reproducing the earlier layout. Of the towers, all that remain are that in the south-east and traces of the south-west. The pigeon loft was built on the base of a tower. A demolished wall near the chapel reveals the former gatehouse which led into the courtyard. The chapel still has sculptures and two

mullioned window A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s decorated with mouldings. Attached is a round tower standing on a base with four floors. A vaulted cellar gave surveillance of the surrounding area by spy holes. Inside are 15th and 18th century chimneys, earthenware paving, beamed ceilings and visible joists. The castle is privately owned. It has been listed since 1990 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

* Monuments historiques of Gers Ruined castles in Occitania (administrative region) {{France-castle-stub