Ruines de l'ancien 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

Important by its situation close to the maritime coast and the lower valley of the Têt, the stronghold of Canet was the object of the careful attention of the kings of Majorca then of Aragon, who endeavoured to maintain faithful vassals in possession of this lordship, by granting them numerous advantages. Examination of the ruins shows that to the powerful fortifications built in pebbles in the 11th or 12th century, were added in the 14th century walls chained with bricks. Of residential buildings built from the 16th to the 17th century, only the underground ice-house remains. The enclosure draws an irregular trapezium. Defence is assured by short arrow-slits summarily arranged in bricks. To the south, a wide breach occupies the place of the old gate which was preceded by outworks of which little remains. A round tower, perhaps the old keep, of which the base remains, rose in the western part, inside the enclosure. Between the church and the north curtain, a dome covers a deep underground circular work which must have served as an ice-house. The castral chapel was probably built at the end of the 11th century. The apse, decorated with Lombard arcatures on the outside, was raised in the form of a tower no doubt in the 14th century.