Lagarde Castle

Lagarde

The fortress was first mentioned in the tenth century when it was thought to have been a square tower. In the twelfth century various rectangular towers and a gatehouse were thought to have been added before the castle was stormed by the Crusaders during the Cathar Wars, though nothing there looks that old. The castle was then given to the Levis family who built the current remains and resided at the castle until the Revolution when it was ruined. This late destruction means that the fortress is a curious mix of fourteenth century and Baroque buildings.

Description
The entire castle is square in shape with a round artillery tower at each corner surrounded by a deep sixteenth century ditch. Within this ward is another, older one, with rectangular towers. At the south apex of the inner ward is what is claimed to be the original tower keep between the south tower and the rectangular gatetower. This has been heavily rebuilt, if it retains anything of the original structure. Buildings line the inside of the walls, making the whole rather like the fourteenth century Bodiam castle in Yorkshire, England, right down to the postern-like tower as the entrance. The whole castle was revamped by Jean Levis in the early sixteenth century and a new Renaissance chapel and stair turret were added.

Why not join me here and at other French castles? Information on this and other tours can be found at Scholarly Sojourns.

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