The Tours de Merle (English, Towers of Merle) are the ruins of 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 of Saint-Geniez-ô-Merle, in the Corrèze '' département'' of France. A feudal fortress from the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, which was subject of a classification as a historic monument since July 30, 1927. In the fourteenth

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

, Merle included seven castles, two chapels and village, owned by seven noblemen from

Merles Merles (; oc, Mèrles) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. See also *Communes of the Tarn-et-Garonne department The following is a list of the 195 communes of the Tarn-et-Garonne depar ...

. During the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

, the English took one of the towers and a

in 1371. In 1574 the

Calvinists Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

took the citadel, where they established a

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...

, they were driven out two years later by the co-lords. But the

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

was abandoned by those who preferred to live in places that were more pleasant and certainly more accessible.

References

External links

Château de Merle
* Ruined castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine {{France-castle-stub