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

A 'podio Segario' is mentioned as early as 1094. During the Albigensian Crusade, the castle is taken and destroyed by Simon de Montfort, then rebuilt. It passes to the viscounts of Narbonne in the 14th century and then to the counts of Foix in the 15th. At the end of the 16th century, the castle with its dependencies extends as far as the square and covers a vast quadrilateral with granaries, sheds, houses, ditches, lower courtyards and terrace, to which must be added the seigneurial oven as well as ice-houses in the ditches near the Portail Neuf. During the Revolution, it is sold and divided among several owners. The buildings are organised around an interior courtyard enclosed by the medieval curtain wall. The primitive square keep is located to the north. The main dwellings are to the east and south. The entrance porch forming a covered passage towards the courtyard is placed at the northern end of the eastern range. The crenellation, consisting of a mixture of stones, bricks, tiles and cement, is modern. The western curtain wall retains traces of the wall-walk and former Romanesque openings. A gallery with depressed arcades is visible beneath the additions to the eastern range, against the spiral staircase tower, at the corner of the eastern and southern ranges. The latter houses, on two levels, large halls with beam ceilings and, on the first floor, the remains of a small chamber and a 17th-century fireplace with gypsum decoration.