The Château Royal de Collioure ( Catalan: ''Castell Reial de Cotlliure'') is a massive French beach fortified royal castle in the town of Collioure, a few kilometers north of the Spanish border in the French ''département'' of

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ; ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spain, Spanish ...

History of the Castle of Collioure

The Château is the juxtaposition of at least four castles.

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...

was conquered by the Romans around 120 BC and then occupied by the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...

from 418. The first mention is about a fortified site in Collioure under siege in 673, by Wamba, king of the

who lay siege to the "''Castellum Caucolibéri''" to subdue a rebellion.

Castle of the Templars

In the 12th century,

Girard II Gerard II (''Girard'' in French and ''Gerard'' in Catalan, ''Gerardo'' in Spanish) was the last ''de facto'' independent count of Roussillon from 1164 to his death in 1172. He was the son and heir of Gausfred III. As his father before him, he a ...

, the last independent count of the

, bequeathed his land to Alfons II,

King of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...

and

Count of Barcelona The count of Barcelona (, , , ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, Usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality of Catalonia as Prince#Prince as generic for ruler, p ...

. Concerned about the prosperity of Collioure, the

kings of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...

granted privileges and tax exemptions. An annual fair was established, and important works were undertaken in the castle, the port and the town. The

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

built the castle around 1207. In 1276 it was integrated into the royal castle.

Kings of Majorca

A second castle was later built by the Kings of Majorca during the 13th and 14th centuries. In the 13th century, the Castle was annexed to the

Kingdom of Majorca The Kingdom of Majorca (, ; ; ; ) was an insular realm off the east coast of modern day Spain, which included the islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The islands were conquered from the Almohad Caliphate by James I of Aragon, ...

, which included the domain of

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, the earldoms of the

and

Cerdanya Cerdanya (; , ; , ) or often La Cerdanya is a natural region, natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the Catalan counties, counties of Catalonia. Cerdanya has a ...

, the

Conflent Conflent (; ) is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent. The capital of this ''pays'' is Prades (), and it bor ...

and

Vallespir Vallespir (; ) is a historical Catalan comarca in Northern Catalonia, part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. Geography The capital of the comarca is Ceret, and it borders the comarques of Conflent, Rosselló, Alt Empordà ...

, and the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago forms a Provinces of Spain, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain, ...

. The Kings of Majorca were itinerant. They travelled with their court, moving frequently from Maguelonne, near

, to

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

, to

Palma de Majorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situated on the south coast of M ...

or to Collioure.

Habsburg fortress: Charles Quint and Philip II

In the 16th century, after a brief occupation by

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

, the

Spanish Habsburgs Habsburg Spain refers to Spain and the Hispanic Monarchy, also known as the Catholic Monarchy, in the period from 1516 to 1700 when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg. In this period the Spanish Empire was at the zenith of its in ...

, starting with Charles Quint, again occupied Collioure. He and his son Philip II turned the castle into a modern fortress of the 16th century. It was imperative that the fortifications were adapted in line with the advances in

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

, and so the castle defences and its surroundings were considerably reinforced.

Bourbon citadel

In the 17th century Collioure was at stake in the wars between the

and the French Bourbons. In 1642,

Louis XIII 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. ...

's troops lay siege to Collioure and the Château Royal. Ten thousand men including

Turenne Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne (), was a French general and one of only six marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of th ...

d'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Fr ...

and the King's musketeers occupied the hills overlooking the town, while the French fleet blocked the port. Deprived of water due to the destruction of their wells, the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

were forced to surrender. In 1659,

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 ...

annexed the

and Collioure and the castle passed definitively into French hands. Vauban built the bastions, reinforced the structure and upgraded Fort Saint-Elme.

The Roussillon war

In 1793, the

again besieged and occupied Collioure, which General Dugommier took back the next year. He captured Fort Saint-Elme on 25 May and forced the Spanish general Eugenio Navarro to surrender the next day.

The 20th century

* Fort Saint-Elme was sold at auction in August 1913. * The castle was designated an historic monument in 1922. The castle was turned into a men's

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

in March 1939 and became the first disciplinary camp for the Spanish

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

of the Retirada, the exile from the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. Many others were sent to the camps of Argelès-sur-Mer and

Rivesaltes Rivesaltes (; , which means the ''high shores'') is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Rivesaltes is in the canton of La Vallée de l'Agly and in the arrondissement of Perpignan. Politics and ...

. After 1941, French detainees were prisoners of the

Vichy regime Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

. The prison received men sentenced for indiscipline, attempted escape and incitement to rebellion from the camps of Argelès-sur-Mer, Saint-Cyprien and Le Barcarès. The detainees transited there before being sent to

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. Property of the

General Council of the Pyrénées-Orientales A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...

since 1951, the castle is one of the major tourist spots in

Northern Catalonia Northern Catalonia, North Catalonia or French Catalonia is the Catalan language, Catalan-speaking and cultural territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 in exchange for France's effective renu ...

Notes

References

* Eugène Cortade, ''Le Château royal de Collioure'' - Fondation de Collioure, 1987, ASIN B000XEVCD2 * Grégory Tuban, ''Les séquestrés de Collioure : Un camp disciplinaire au Château royal en 1939'' - Mare nostrum, 2003,

External links

Château Royal de Collioure
- Visiting information

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau Royal De Collioure Buildings and structures completed in the 13th century Buildings and structures completed in the 14th century Buildings and structures completed in the 16th century Castles in Pyrénées-Orientales Defunct prisons in France History of Catalonia Monuments historiques of Pyrénées-Orientales Historic house museums in Occitania (administrative region) Museums in Pyrénées-Orientales