The Château of Maÿtie ,aka Andurain of Mauléon-Licharre !!

Posted in Europe, France

I bring you back to the deep south of my belle France. Always fascinating the road warrior trips into off the beaten paths territory, and we love it.  On many occasions we passed by towns unknownly and find gems never before seen or even heard of. As said , we have so much treasure here and it shows by the number of visitors. We came upon this town and castle and took a swipe for now. I have mentioned briefly but need to have a post on its own, well deserve me think. Therefore, here is my take on the Château de Maÿtie or aka Andurain of Mauléon-Licharre !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I 

The town of Mauléon-Licharre is located in the heart of the historical province of Soule, at the foot of the Pyrenees. Mauléon, an old feudal town, is built on the right bank of the Saison river or gave of Mauléon, at the foot of a hill where the ruins of the castle rise. In 1261, Prince Edward I of England made a demonstration of force on the site, which prompted the Viscounts of Soule to submit. He then decided, in order to establish his power, the fortification of certain cities, in Soule, Villeneuve-lès-Tardets (now Tardets-Sorholus) and Mauléon which became a Bastide.  Mauléon was chief town of district in the department of Basse-Pyrenees (became Pyrénées-Atlantiques in 1969) in 1793 then chief town of district and canton in 1801. In 1841, Mauléon absorbs Licharre and becomes Mauléon-Licharre.  The town was chief town of district and sub-prefecture until 1926. Currently Mauléon-Licharre, is chief town of canton in the district of Oloron-Sainte-Marie. And of course, this is the Nouvelle Aquitaine region of my belle France.

The  Château of Maÿtie aka Andurain was built at the end of the 16C. The castle was built by Arnaud de Maÿtie, named bishop of Oloron by king Henry IV in 1598 with the mission to restore the Catholic worship in a diocese with Protestant majority. In 1661, the revolt of priest Matalas led to the destruction of one of the four towers of the castle, which was never rebuilt. The castle, never sold, is kept in the same family since its construction. The Château de Maÿtie is owned by the Andurain family of Azémar de Fabrègues. The Renaissance Andurain castle dates back to the 16C mullioned and pediment windows, a rare frame inside, in triple hull of overturned nave, original furniture, armchairs, chests of drawers, carved fireplaces, 17C tables and pedestal tables 18C, and a library that will allow you to see books of the 16-17C. The family of Maytie who built it, giving three bishops to the Church, participated in the restoration of religious peace in the diocese.  The castle has a rectangular shape, flanked at each corner by a square tower. The architecture is of Renaissance style, with a facade particularly remarkable for its elegance , mullioned and pediment windows, broken arches lightening the lines, masks, wrought balcony. This facade forms the counterpoint to the imposing three-story roof of chestnut shingles. Only three towers survive from the original four towers, the fourth having been burned and then shot down during the revolt of the priest Matalas in 1661.

mauleon-lichare-chateau-dandurain-fr-aug14

The interior is distinguished by a straight flight staircase with an elegant armature, serving all floors. The large living room on the ground floor and the bishop’s room on the first floor have carved Baroque fireplaces, inset a medallion with the arms of the bishop and a portrait of Arnaud de Maÿtie. It is open to the public from July 1st to September 15 every year. Every day at 11h, 15h, 16h15 ,and 17h30, except Thursdays and Sunday mornings. From September 15 to October 15 on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 16h.  Still in private hands, contact the castle directly for a visit at Tel +33 (0) 5 59 28 04 18 or email:  chateau.d-andurain@orange.fr . Location is at  1, rue du Jeu-de-Paume , 64130 Mauléon-Licharre.

Passing by I took a picture of always an interesting building that is the Hôtel de Ville ,this time of Mauléon-Licharre.  The City hall of Mauléon is located in front of the Grande Place des Allées, on the site of the Maison d’Enecot de Sponde, father of the poet Jean de Sponde. The hotel was bequeathed to Montreal. Long after the French revolution, The city/town hall was built for Count Philibert de Grama by François Mansart whose style is recognized with the alternation of skylights arched and triangular pediment and large spaced windows.  The states of Soule bought this mansion in 1777. It became the sub-prefecture of Mauléon from 1789 to 1926. Since 1980, it is the new City/Town hall of Mauléon.

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The town of Mauléon-Licharre on its history/heritage:  https://www.mauleon.fr/mauleon/notre-territoire/mauleon-ville/

The official Château de Maÿtie/Andurain: https://www.chateaudandurain.com/

There you go folks, a wonderful off the beaten path castle of my deep France, the real local sublime gorgeous and gastronomic delights! This is the town of Mauléon-Licharre in the old Soule of my old belle France. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Château de Maÿtie/Andurain as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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