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Base Mérimée: Monuments historiques · France

Ruines du château

Tornac, Gard, France

The record

Designation
Historic monument, registered (inscrit)
Protection
inscrit MH
Extent of protection
Château (ruines) (cad. AP 113 à 116) : inscription par arrêté du 5 décembre 1984
Protection dates
1984/12/05 : inscrit MH
Type
château
Main period of construction
11e siècle, 12e siècle, 16e siècle
Ownership
propriété privée, propriété d'une association, propriété de la commune
Commune
Tornac
Département
Gard
Region
Occitanie
Country
France
Coordinates
44.03605, 3.99801
Mérimée reference
PA00103244

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 1703 map "Parie Orientale Du Gouvernement General De Languedoc .." (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

Le donjon carré s'apparente aux tours élevées en bas Languedoc aux 11e et 12e siècles, présentant un plan en forme de parallélogramme et percées de rares ouvertures. Probablement édifiée sur un emplacement déjà reconnu du temps de l'occupation romaine, elle était destinée au guet et à la transmission de signaux. Le nom primitif est Sandeiren ou Sandeyren et, par altération aux 15e et 16e siècles, Saint-Deyran. Le château portera le nom du village de Tornac vers la fin du 17e siècle. La terre de Tornac était en paréage entre le roi et le prieur du monastier, depuis l'époque des guerres albigeoises. En 1540, les droits du premier furent cédés à Bermond de la Jonquière, bourgeois d'Anduze. Voulant construire un château, il acquiert la tour de Sandeiran et entame la construction entre 1549 et 1566. En 1792, le château est incendié et abandonné par les propriétaires. Sequestré comme bien national, il est vendu par morceaux. De plan carré, la tour est érigée sur un roc taillé. La base de la porte voûtée en berceau est à un mètre au-dessus du roc. Les constructions du 16e siècle s'organisent autour.

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

The square keep is similar to the towers raised in lower Languedoc in the 11th and 12th centuries, presenting a parallelogram plan and pierced by few openings. Probably built on a site already recognized in the time of Roman occupation, it was intended for watch and signal transmission. The primitive name is Sandeiren or Sandeyren and, by alteration in the 15th and 16th centuries, Saint-Deyran. The castle will bear the name of the village of Tornac towards the end of the 17th century. The land of Tornac was in joint ownership between the king and the prior of the monastery, since the time of the Albigensian wars. In 1540, the rights of the former were ceded to Bermond de la Jonquière, bourgeois of Anduze. Wishing to build a castle, he acquires the tower of Sandeiran and begins construction between 1549 and 1566. In 1792, the castle is set on fire and abandoned by its owners. Sequestered as national property, it is sold in pieces. Of square plan, the tower is built on a dressed rock. The base of the barrel-vaulted door is one metre above the rock. The 16th-century constructions are organized around it.

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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