The Château Moncade is a ruined
castle 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
Orthez
Orthez (; eu, Ortheze; oc, Ortès, ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, and region of New Aquitaine, southwestern France.
It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the sm ...
in the
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlant ...
''
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
Construction of the castle was started in 1242 by the
Gaston VII, Viscount of Béarn (the
keep, known as the ''tour de Moncade'') taking advantage of the absence of
Edward III. When the King returned, Gaston was imprisoned and had to swear allegiance before being released. He subsequently reneged.
It was the residence of the Kings of
Béarn when their capital was Orthez. Standing on top of a hill above the town, it afforded views of the surrounding county over a radius of more than . The central tower was surrounded by high
curtain walls and
moats up to deep. Entry was by a
drawbridge.
In the 14th century,
Gaston Phébus,
Count of Foix, altered it between 1368 and 1375.
The castle was burned during the
Wars of Religion
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...
in 1569. It was sold during 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
to dismantlers who largely demolished the curtain wall.
The only remains are the keep (in a good state of preservation), the
moats (in course of restoration) and remnants of the curtain wall. It has been listed since 1840 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 ...
.
[
]
Visits
The castle is open to the public (paying) and contains, among other items, a model of the site.[Jean Sarsiat]
"Le poids touristique du château Moncade"
, ''Sud Ouest'', 5 July 2011 . Retrieved 4 June 2020.
Gallery
File:Tour moncade par emmanuel larrouturou.jpg, alt=The tower of the Castle of Moncade, The tower of Château Moncade
File:Chateau moncade emmanuel larrouturou.jpg, alt=The tower of the Château Moncade , The tower of Château Moncade
See also
* List of castles in France
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moncade, Chateau
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Monuments historiques of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Ruined castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Maisons des Illustres