History
article | Reading time5 min
In the heart of the Lomagne region, Château de Gramont stands perched high above the Arratz valley. Built in two phases, it reveals at a glance the difference between medieval and Renaissance architecture. Let yourself be carried away by the history of this small Gascon castle!
A medieval castle on a rocky outcrop
Built at the beginning of the 13th century by the Montaut family, a local noble family, this edifice takes its design cues from Gascon castles. These modestly-sized monuments, also known as towers, bear witness to the border zone between the Kingdom of France and the Duchy of Aquitaine, which was English during the Hundred Years' War.
Do you know what characterizes a Gascon castle?
With a simple, rectangular floor plan, this medieval châtelet consists of a large hall on the upper floor and flanking towers . Its function was primarily defensive.
Éric Sander / Centre des monuments nationaux
The renaissance breath of the De Voisins family
In the 15th century, Françoise de Montaut married Guillaume de Voisins, a local lord. The latter asserted his position by transforming the castle in line with the Renaissance ideas then in vogue.
The windows now punctuate the façade and are adorned with decorations. The main door is set at the top of a staircase, surrounded by columns and topped by a pediment. Reminiscent of ancient architecture!
The castle became a place where people liked to show off. Gardens embellish the site. Over the centuries, they were embellished with a magnificent sophora on the north side. Admire the superb panorama of the Lomagne valleys from this vantage point.
Éric Sander / Centre des monuments nationaux
The restoration of Mr. and Mrs. Dichamp
The De Voisins family owned the château from generation to generation, but finally parted with it at the end of the 19th century.
The next generation restored the château in a "troubadour" style, reinventing the Middle Ages. Then came a succession of uninvested buyers who abandoned the castle.
In 1961, the castle was bought by Roger and Marcelle Dichamp, a couple from the Auvergne. They undertook an initial restoration and moved into the castle to save it from ruin. They took over the building and refurbished the interiors, refurnishing them with 16th, 17th and 18th century furniture and objets d'art. They donated the property to the Caisse Nationale des Monuments Historiques et des Sites in 1979, and lived there until their deaths in 1984 and 2007 respectively.
Jean-Luc Paillé / Centre des monuments nationaux