Château de Roquetaillade
Encyclopedia
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in Mazères
Mazères, Gironde
Mazères is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
(near Bordeaux), in the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
département of Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
.
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, on his way to the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
with Roland
Roland
Roland was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. Historically, Roland was military governor of the Breton March, with responsibility for defending the frontier of Francia against the Bretons...
, built the first fortification there. Of this old castle, nothing remains but imposing ruins.
In 1306, with the permission of the English King Edward I
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
, Cardinal de la Mothe, nephew of Pope Clement VI
Pope Clement VI
Pope Clement VI , bornPierre Roger, the fourth of the Avignon Popes, was pope from May 1342 until his death in December of 1352...
built a second fortress (le Château Neuf), square in plan with six towers and a central keep
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 residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
. This structure was restored by Viollet-le-Duc and one of his pupils, Duthoit, between 1850 and 1870. The extraordinary interior decorations, with its furnishings and paintings, were created by Viollet-le-Duc and are listed as French Heritage.
The château park includes remains of the medieval curtain wall with the barbican
Barbican
A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...
, the Pesquey stream and its banks, the 19th century chalet, and the Crampet pigeon loft.
The castle has served as a location in several films, including Fantômas contre Scotland Yard
Fantômas contre Scotland Yard
Fantômas contre Scotland Yard is the final installment of a trilogy of films starring Jean Marais as the arch villain with the same name opposite Louis de Funès as the earnest but outclassed commissaire Juve and the journalist Fandor, also played by Marais. The trilogy was France's answer,...
and Le Pacte des loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Brotherhood of the Wolf is a 2001 French film directed by Christophe Gans, starring Samuel Le Bihan and Mark Dacascos, and written by Gans and Stéphane Cabel...
). It has been listed as a monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
by the French Ministry of Culture since 1840.
The castle has been lived in by the same family for over 700 years. It has been open to the public since 1956 and is the most visited in the Bordeaux region. Open all year round, visits in English with the owners are also possible.
Other activities at the castle include a famous production of white Graves wines "Chateaufort de Roquetaillade", and Bazadais
Bazadais
The Bazadais is a French breed of beef cattle.-History:This breed comes from ancient cattle bred in Bazas, a little town in the south of Bordeaux. It is probably related to Limousin or Blonde d'Aquitaine.-Morphology:...
cattle breeding.
External links
- Official site in English
- Article and photos on the Château de Roquetaillade
- Ministry of Culture listing