Montpinier Castle: A Former Fortified Residence in France
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.2
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Modern
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- French
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Castle
On this page8 sections
History
Montpinier Castle is a castle in France, built in 1830 on the site of an older fort in the commune of Montpinier, in the Tarn. The site historically belonged to the Viscounty of Lautrec, a territorial lordship governed by a viscount. The present building therefore occupies a place with medieval origins, although its visible form dates largely from the nineteenth century.
Medieval lordship and the Brassac family
On 10 November 1272, Raymonde de Lautrec, daughter of Bertrand I de Lautrec and Contours de La Barthe, brought Montpinier Castle and its fief to Raymond de Brassac through their marriage. The Brassac family then held the lordship of Montpinier until 1609, establishing a period of possession that lasted for more than six centuries when later family ownership is included.
A Protestant stronghold during the religious wars
In the sixteenth century, Montpinier became a Protestant stronghold. During the French Wars of Religion, a series of conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in France, Catholic forces commanded by Armand de Gontaut, Baron de Biron, attacked the castle in May 1569 and partially dismantled it.
Protestant forces led by the Viscount of Paulin occupied Montpinier in 1575, and Henri de La Tour d’Auvergne’s Protestant army recovered it in 1580. Catholics retook the castle in 1587, but Gabriel I de Montgomery’s Protestant army expelled them. The brothers Jean and François de Brassac were killed successively in separate military operations during this period.
Claudine, identified either as the daughter of the last-mentioned Brassac brother or as the daughter of Guillaume, later brought Montpinier as her dowry to Alexis de Perrin, who was Protestant. In 1621, during the revolt led by Henri II de Rohan, a leading Huguenot nobleman and military commander, a small garrison commanded by the Sieur de Maussan occupied the castle on the orders of the Duke of Angoulême.
Transfer to the Lacger family
Through her marriage on 2 August 1821, Victoire de Perrin Brassac transferred the castle to Benjamin, Baron de Lacger. His father, François, Viscount of Perrin Brassac, had fought in the American War of Independence, received an appointment at Verdun, and settled there through marriage. After serving in the Army of Condé, a royalist émigré army formed by opponents of the French Revolution, he returned to Lorraine and later went back to Montpinier. He died on 4 May 1838 and was buried in the church of Mazières, where his name and rank remain legible on his funerary slab.
Hippolyte, Baron de Lacger, described as Alexis’s grandson, ended the long period of family possession by selling the castle to Ernest Schœlcher, nephew of Victor Schœlcher. Ernest Schœlcher lived at Montpinier until 1891. After his departure, the castle was abandoned and gradually fell into obscurity. It is now in an advanced state of ruin.
Remains
Fortified site and courtyard
Montpinier Castle incorporates remains of the medieval fortified site. Its central area contains a small courtyard shaped in the Renaissance style, reflecting architectural forms associated with the European Renaissance. From the road leading to Lautrec, the medieval fortifications and two square towers remain perceptible.
Chapel and garden-side additions
The complex includes a chapel and a long ornamental sentry turret, a small projecting turret associated with a wall or corner. On the garden side stands a Moorish salon, a room built by the last occupants to imitate features associated with Moorish design.
Ruined structure and vegetation
Very large trees grow inside and outside the building. Their trunks have pierced floors and ceilings, contributing to the castle’s advanced state of ruin and altering the surviving fabric of the structure.
