Château

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

History

In the middle of the 12th century there existed at Massaguel a rural exploitation of which a part was fortified. It would subsequently have given rise to the present castle. In 1212, during the Albigensian Crusade, Simon de Montfort destroyed the present site of Massaguel. In 1226, lords of Massaguel are mentioned. The castle appears to have comprised two enclosures. Of the first there subsists a round tower in part truncated, situated to the north-east and furnished with machicolations on its east and north faces. Various buildings are adjoined to it serving today as outbuildings and having formerly had a defensive role. The entrance door into the inner courtyard pierces this enclosure with a round arch surmounted by pilasters of the 17th century. The castle presents a square plan and is flanked by three round towers furnished with machicolations. A fourth tower, containing the staircase, rises at the centre of the west façade, square and furnished with machicolations and gun loops. A turret on squinch is adjoined to it, on its south façade, pierced with a dormer of the 16th century. The principal façade, on the north side, is pierced with openings of the 18th century. The second storey is lit by two Renaissance windows. The entrance door opens onto a corridor which in the 16th century must have been a gallery serving the whole castle. Several brick arcades are today built up. On the noble storey, a suite of three rooms is ornamented with stuccos of the 18th century (fruit basket for the dining room; seasons and profile of Louis XV for the great drawing room; musical instruments and basket of flowers for the music room).