13th Century Château To Restore Located In The Small Fortified Village Of Larressingle

In the 13th century, the village of Larressingle was fortified. Originally, an imposing three-story keep and a Romanesque church stood atop the hill. They were surrounded by 270 meters of high walls connecting eight towers. Inside, medieval houses were attached to the enclosing wall.
For the defense of the site, the inhabitants relied on crenelated towers with straight or cross-shaped arrow slits; the famous keep; a walkway on the ramparts; moats dug at the foot of the enclosing wall; and a single grand entrance gate that originally featured a drawbridge, now replaced by a small bridge. The church was also modified with a refuge room overlooking the keep.
In the 14th century, the keep was transformed into a Gascon château.
In the 16th century, improvements were made for the comfort of the lords: a tower housing a spiral staircase, numerous mullioned windows to bring in light…
By the end of the 16th century, the château was abandoned and fell into disrepair for nearly two centuries.
The Duke of Trévise dedicated his life to preserving the wealth of French heritage. In 1925, Mr. de Trévise, a brilliant speaker, wonderful writer, and painter, traveled to the United States seeking patronage, giving lectures from city to city for the preservation of French art.
In Larressingle, he worked to restore houses, ramparts, and towers, but although he could not restore the château, he approached the Directorate of Fine Arts to suggest the classification of the castle village. Thanks to the goodwill of its owners, the château was indeed classified on September 16, 1922.
Since its renovation, Larressingle has received multiple classifications for its protection: ”Historical Monuments,” ”UNESCO World Heritage,” ”Most Beautiful Village in France,” ”Grand Site of Occitanie.”
A first phase of work has just been completed.
The work carried out on the East and South walls as well as on the staircase turret includes:
Cleaning of the facings and interior and exterior walls
Securing the tops of the walls.
Reopening of blocked openings and installation of temporary closures
Replacement of certain stone blocks
Replacement and securing of damaged and/or missing steps in the turret
Renovation of door, window, and opening frames with original moldings
Restoration of certain wall sculptures.
Information on the risks to which this property is exposed is available on the Géorisques website: https://www.georisques.gouv.fr/