The Château de Montaner is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the '' commune'' of Montaner in the

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of southern France. A castle was built on a

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...

in the 11th century by the Viscounts of Montaner. It was reconstructed in 1375 by Sicard de Lordat on the orders of Gaston Fébus to protect the frontiers of Béarn with

Bigorre Bigorre (; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region k ...

and

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac (region), Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni ...

. The architect,

Sicard de Lordat Sicard de Lordat was a 14th-century architect from the County of Foix, now in modern-day France, who worked for Gaston Fébus (Gaston III of Foix-Béarn). He is noted particularly for working with brick, a material that was cheap and allowed speed ...

, was also responsible for the

Château de Pau The Château de Pau (, ) is a castle in the centre of the city of Pau, the capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Béarn. It dominates that quarter of the city. Henry IV of France and Navarre was born here on December 13, 1553, and it was once ...

and the Château de Morlanne and is noted for utilising brick in his constructions, its advantages being comparative cheapness and speed. It includes a vast polygonal ''

enceinte Enceinte (from Latin ''incinctus'' "girdled, surrounded") is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the positio ...

'' with 20 sections supported by

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es with two gateways and a 36 metre high square

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

, accessed by a swing bridge. Above the door to the keep is the majestic

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of Foix-Béarn, itself capped with the words "''Fébus mé fé''" ("Fébus made me"). Since 1854, the Castle has been owned and managed by the

''. In summer, numerous spectacles and exhibitions are organised on the theme of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The castle has been listed on the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

's inventory of historic buildings since 1973 and classified as a ''

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 collection of buildings, ...

'' since 1980.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Montaner, Chateau De Castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Monuments historiques of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Châteaux in Pyrénées-Atlantiques Tourist attractions in Pyrénées-Atlantiques

See also

References

External links