A 12th-century chateau with ramparts and 15 hectares of grounds, listed as a historical monument and looking down over a valley by the Pyrenees mounta
A 12th-century chateau with ramparts and 15 hectares of grounds, listed as a historical monument and looking down over a valley by the Pyrenees mountains.
The chateau stands in a commanding position of strategic importance upon a rocky hill overlooking a valley, in south-west France's beautiful Couserans province, once part of the historical county of Comminges. The chateau's fortified walls bear witness to a medieval period marked by seigneurial conflicts and remind us of the defensive role that such strongholds played on the route from the city of Toulouse up to Pyrenees mountain passes. The local area, which looks out at the nearby Pyrenees mountains, combines unspoilt nature with a wealth of built heritage, made up of slate-roofed villages, Romanesque churches and quaint stone dwellings. Here you can enjoy traditional markets, walking trails and rivers abounding with fish. The property lies near the town of Saint-Girons, a historical crossroads in the valleys of France's Ariège department. In this backdrop, nature and history are closely entwined. This enchanting environment has authentic charm, far from the bustle of modern life. Yet access to the property is straightforward: the road linking Toulouse to the Atlantic coast runs through the valley and a train station in the town of Boussens is only 30 kilometres away.
From a bird's-eye view, the chateau seems to be perched atop a wooded hill like a sentry looking out across the undulating landscape of France's Couserans province. Around the chateau, there is a patchwork of gently sloping meadows, woods and fields that lines the serrated horizon of the Pyrenees mountains. Your gaze, first struck by the relief of the land, is eventually drawn to the oval form of the chateau's enclosing wall that encircles a plain mass of barrel-tiled roofs and pale stone elevations. All aspects of this chateau give the impression of a calm, dense, unshakeable unit. As you leave the local village to approach the chateau, the modern world fades away. The road becomes a country lane and later becomes a shady track. The driveway to the chateau is flanked with oaks and beeches and edged with stone bollards crowned with orbs and linked with a chain. This driveway seems like a formal route, rigorously plotted and solemnly discreet. There is no showy gate here, but just the murmur of the wind, sunrays filtered through leaves and a rare feeling of slowly ascending to a dwelling inhabited by something other than everyday life. At last, the chateau's facade comes into view between the trees. Plain yet welcoming, the chateau adjoins its rampart like a hand fitting into a glove. A door in an arch that cuts through the full thickness of the enclosing wall marks the entrance. Beyond this archway, you find yourself in an inner court, some of which is grassy. Here you can see different tokens of the chateau's past: a well dug into the rock, the Romantic ruins of outhouses waiting to be brought back to life, a square tower, adjoining annexes and successive recesses of architecture that has adapted over time without ever betraying its origin. The chateau was built in the 12th century. In the 17th century, it was turned into a summer holiday home. Today it is listed as a historical monument. The chateau has kept its structural coherence and residential design.
The ground floorThe entrance door leads into a hallway with a floor of terracotta tiles and a ceiling of exposed joists painted red and white. On the left, a grey-and-beige double door leads into a lavatory with a sculpted shell-shaped washbasin that has a copper animal-shaped tap. From the hall, a wooden staircase leads upstairs. Further on, a twin door hides a tiny room for equipment. Opposite, an imposing studded door draws attention to a bas-relief above it that depicts four chubby children around a lion lying down beside ...
