Château de Terraube
Encyclopedia
The Château de Terraube is a 13th century castle
in the commune
of Terraube
in the Gers
département of France.
This Gascon
castle was built around 1272 for the de Galard family, Merovingian dukes of Gascony; a date on the doorway confirms this. The de Galards have owned the castle ever since. It was altered and enlarged in the 16th and 17th centuries. The residence was enlarged from 1768 by the master masons Guillaume Gras, Jacques Lapeyronie and Dominique Ducasse. Two further residential buildings were added around 1773 by masons Guillaume Aurio and Joseph Labarthe.
Stone decorations include animals, people, gargoyle
s and coats of arms, including those of the Galards on a chimney.
It has been listed since 1947 as a monument historique
by the French Ministry of Culture.
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 the commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Terraube
Terraube
Terraube is a commune in the Gers department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
in the Gers
Gers
The Gers is a department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in the southwest of France named after the Gers River.Inhabitants are called les Gersois or Gersoises.-History:...
département of France.
This Gascon
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
castle was built around 1272 for the de Galard family, Merovingian dukes of Gascony; a date on the doorway confirms this. The de Galards have owned the castle ever since. It was altered and enlarged in the 16th and 17th centuries. The residence was enlarged from 1768 by the master masons Guillaume Gras, Jacques Lapeyronie and Dominique Ducasse. Two further residential buildings were added around 1773 by masons Guillaume Aurio and Joseph Labarthe.
Stone decorations include animals, people, gargoyle
Gargoyle
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque, usually made of granite, with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between...
s and coats of arms, including those of the Galards on a chimney.
It has been listed since 1947 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.