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History of the castle
Perched between sky
and ground with a few miles of Auch, Lavardens incarne with wonder
the Gascon eprit. Its picturesque site did of it one of the high
tourist places of the department of Gers.
The castle throne proudly on the heights of a small valley. Its
Western frontage is most remarkable by far: it resembles to mistake
there with the stem of a ship. The square towers in overhang constitute
a true technical prowess and testify to an extreme audacity on behalf
of builders holders of a know-how except standard.
In addition to its architectural heritage, Lavardens is also rich
of its prestigious history. Numbers famous visitors there séjournérent
and marked the site of an often discrete, but always perceptible
print. Don't the centuries erase the memory systematically?
Old military capital of the Counts d' Armagnac, the castle of Lavardens
is attested in XIIe century. It seems to be destroyed with three
recoveries, but was definitively dismantled in 1496 on order of
Charles VIII. Property of the families of Albret then of Navarre,
king Henri de Navarre (future Henri IV of France? 1589) concedes
it in 1585 in Antoine de Roquelaure. This one, passionately in love
in spite of its 75 years with its young person and fresh 18 year
old wife, Suzanne de Bassabat, undertakes with its intention the
rebuilding of one laughing remains on the vestiges of the medieval
fortress (1620). Lavardens reappears of its ashes and becomes from
now on a splendid residence of summer, mixes subtle elegance and
of austerity.
After the Revolution, the castle is sold to 12 families unable to
assume of it a suitable management and which gradually lead it to
the abandonment and the ruin. II fortunately is saved thanks to
a handle of impassioned in the years 1960. |
