The Château de Nérac 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

Lot-et-Garonne Lot-et-Garonne (, ) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.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 ...

'' in southwest

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. An edifice of the French

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

style, it was finished during the reign of

Jeanne d'Albret Jeanne d'Albret (, Basque language, Basque: ''Joana Albretekoa''; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Joana de Labrit''; 16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572), also known as Jeanne III, was Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572. Jeanne was the daughter of He ...

, Queen of

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, daughter of Marguerite d'Angoulème who was also

Marguerite de Navarre Marguerite de Navarre (, ''Marguerite d'Alençon''; 11 April 149221 December 1549), also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was a princess of France, Duchess of Alençon and Berry, and Queen of Navarre by her second mar ...

by her marriage to

Henry II of Navarre Henry II (Spanish: ''Enrique II''; Basque: ''Henrike II''; 18 April 1503 – 25 May 1555), nicknamed ''Sangüesino'' because he was born in Sangüesa, was the King of Navarre from 1517. The kingdom had been reduced to a small territory north of t ...

. The castle has been listed 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 1862 by 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 ...

Position

The castle overlooks the Baïse river, a tributary the

Garonne The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ; or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...

History

A stately home belonging to Arsieu of Albian is mentioned in 1088 but the first mention of a castle on the site is that belonging to Amanieu VI of

Albret The House of Albret, which derives its name from the lordship (''seigneurie'') of Albret (Labrit), situated in the Landes of Gascony, Landes, was one of the most powerful feudal families of Kingdom of France, France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarr ...

(Labrit) in 1259. The castle was rebuilt between the 15th and 16th centuries by the

House of Albret The House of Albret, which derives its name from the lordship (''seigneurie'') of Albret (Labrit), situated in the Landes of Gascony, Landes, was one of the most powerful feudal families of Kingdom of France, France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarr ...

. The House of Albret became linked to the Kingdom of Navarre after his marriage to Queen

Catherine of Navarre Catherine (, , ; 1468 – 12 February 1517) was Queen of Navarre from 1483 until 1517. She was also Duchess of Gandia, Montblanc, Tarragona, Montblanc, and Peñafiel, Spain, Peñafiel, Countess of Counts of Foix, Foix, Bigorre, and County of Rib ...

(Lescar, 1486) and his crowning ''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...

'' as King Jean III of Navarre. The castle was the location of a vibrant court during the life of

, Queen Jeanne III of Navarre, and the youth of Henry III of Navarre, the future

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

. In 1560, Queen Jeanne III and her court converted to reformed religion after the meeting of

Theodore de Bèze Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory, Australia * Theodore, Queensland, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore Reservoir, in Saskatchewan People * Theodore (gi ...

, and they welcomed a number of artists, such as

Clément Marot Clément Marot (23 November 1496 – 12 September 1544) was a French Renaissance poet. He was influenced by the writers of the late 15th century and paved the way for the Pléiade, and is undoubtedly the most important poet at the court of Fr ...

. After the coronation of Henry III of Navarre as King

, the castle was deserted. It was partially destroyed in 1651 by

Henry of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne Henry of Mayenne or Henry of Lorraine, (Dijon, 20 December 1578 – Montauban, 20 September 1621) was a French noble from the House of Lorraine and more particularly from the House of Guise. He was the eldest son of Charles, Duke of Mayenne an ...

, after the town revolted against king

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

and then dismantled during the French Revolution, excepting the northern part, which is now a museum.

Gallery

Nérac - Château - 01.jpg Nérac - Château - 03.jpg Nérac - Château - 04.jpg Nérac - Château - 05.jpg Nérac - Château - 06.jpg Nérac - Château - 07.jpg

References

External links

* Castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Lot-et-Garonne Maisons des Illustres {{France-castle-stub

Position

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links