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Base Mérimée: Monuments historiques · France

Château de Francs ou des Douze Portes

Bègles, Gironde, France

The record

Designation
Historic monument, registered (inscrit), in part
Protection
inscrit MH partiellement
Extent of protection
Les façades et les toitures (cad. BI 71) : inscription par arrêté du 27 janvier 1975
Protection dates
1975/01/27 : inscrit MH
Type
château
Main period of construction
12e siècle, 16e siècle, 19e siècle
Dates
1198
Ownership
propriété privée
Commune
Bègles
Département
Gironde
Region
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Country
France
Coordinates
44.80770, -0.53480
Mérimée reference
PA00083135

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

5 historical maps cover this location, the earliest the 1774 map "104 Bordeaux." (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).

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This record on the Ministère de la Culture's POP platform ↗

The Ministère de la Culture's notice

Deux grands corps de bâtiments construits perpendiculairement l'un par rapport à l'autre forment la masse du château, avec une tour à pans coupés logée dans l'angle rentrant nord-est. A l'est, la partie abritant les salons est plus récente et conserve des éléments anciens (porte sous arc plein cintre). Le mur de clôture qui prolonge ce petit bâtiment vient buter sur une tour ronde. La façade sud a conservé un aspect de maison bourgeoise mais son entrée est flanquée de deux contreforts, restes d'un système défensif du 12e siècle. Une tour carrée logeant un escalier rectangulaire est incrustée dans la façade ouest. La façade nord est percée d'une porte d'entrée encadrée de deux pilastres et surmontée d'un fronton demi-circulaire. Le mur pignon de la façade est conserve des fenêtres à meneaux. L'ensemble a été remanié au 19e siècle. Catherine de Médicis, Charles IX, Jeanne d'Albret et Henri de Navarre y séjournèrent en 1565.

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Two large bodies of building constructed perpendicular to one another form the mass of the castle, with a tower with cut corners lodged in the re-entrant north-east angle. To the east, the part housing the drawing rooms is more recent and retains old elements (doorway under a round arch). The enclosure wall which extends this small building comes to meet a round tower. The south façade has retained the appearance of a bourgeois house but its entrance is flanked by two buttresses, remains of a defensive system of the 12th century. A square tower housing a rectangular staircase is set into the west façade. The north façade is pierced with an entrance door framed by two pilasters and surmounted by a semi-circular pediment. The gable wall of the east façade retains mullioned windows. The whole was remodelled in the 19th century. Catherine de Medici, Charles IX, Jeanne d'Albret and Henry of Navarre stayed there in 1565.

Nearby in the register

Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.

Base Mérimée, Ministère de la Culture, data last updated 2026-09-17, reused under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab). Record text is reproduced unchanged. Ministère de la Culture · Licence Ouverte 2.0
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