Roquetaillade means “cut in the rock”. The existence on the site of natural caves and a rocky piton, which makes the place favorable to a human installation from prehistory. Many cut flints found on the spot testify to this presence and are today visible in the castle reception room. Today Roquetaillade presents itself as follows: the “old castle” whose vestiges of stone date back to the 10C; and the “new castle” which dates from the beginning of the 14C built at the request of Gaillard de la Motte, nephew of Pope Clément V. It was renovated twice: in the 16C but also in the 19C by Viollet-le-Duc , which undertakes an important decoration work there. And the Saint-Michel chapel which in the 12C was that of the village.
If the Château de Roquetaillade has never been sold and has always been transmitted by inheritance, the name of the family has changed three times since the origins. In 1552, Catherine de la Motte married Jean de Lansac and brought him the castle in a dowry. In 1789, Marie Henriette, daughter of the last Marquis de Lansac, married François de Laborie, bringing her in the lands and the castle. Under the French revolution, she divorces her husband in order to safeguard the family heritage, her husband who has joined the ranks of emigrants. In 1815, his daughter, Marie-Joséphine de Lansac, married Hippolyte de Mauvesin and brought the castle in her dowry. In 1864, their son, the marquis Lodoïs de Mauvesin and his wife Geneviève, born of Galard-Béarn, inherited Roquetaillade. They are the ones who will have the major interior arrangements carried out by Viollet-le-Duc. Having lost their only child, the Mauvesin transmit Roquetaillade to their cousin Hippolyte de Baritault, whose family still continues the maintenance of the castle today.
According to oral tradition, it is Charlemagne who erected in Roquetaillade a first wooden fort towards the end of the 8C. Subsequently, and until the 13C, the old castle underwent major modifications in 1274 was mentioned for the first time in the archives of a fortified village or Castelnau de Roquetaillade. These archives also report the presence in Roquetaillade de Bourgeois, which confirms that the agglomeration was wall closed. In 1466, the archives made Roquetaillade a city as important as Langon or La Réole. The city was slowly abandoned and, at the end of the 16C, it had completely disappeared. The only non-military building that remains today from that time is the Saint-Michel Chapel, from the end of the 13C. In the 19C, Viollet-le-Duc created an astonishing decor with in particular a ceiling with Moorish inspiration. In 1306, with the permission of King Edward I of England, Cardinal de la Motte, nephew of Pope Clément V, built a second fortress in Roquetaillade: the “new castle”. English influences are felt in the style of the building. This new construction of square plan with six towers and a central dungeon concentrated all the latest innovations and techniques of active defense The Château de Roquetaillade, as well as the other so-called mild castles are the first examples of palaces in France.
It was in 1864 that Lodois de Mauvesin and his wife decided to update the old castle and transform the interiors The site will last from 1864 to 1878, with an interruption after the fall of Napoleon III in 1870. In 1871, Viollet-le-Duc, sentenced to death by the City uprisers of Paris, went into exile in Switzerland, after a four-year judgment, Edmond Duthoit finished the project between 1875 and 1879. Roquetaillade is the only example in France of a complete operation executed by Viollet-le-Duc: catering, creation, decoration, furniture, social organization and stewardship. The decorations of Viollet-le-Duc announced before the hour Art Nouveau by their organic arabesques, the shimmering colors, the fantastic bestiary, as well as a whole furniture inspired by its dictionaries. It is a dictatorship of style where nothing is forgotten and without any room for something else, a “total art”, aesthetic system that Viollet-le-Duc had tried to impose on the fine arts but which will be taken up by some artists claiming to be Art Nouveau like Gaudi, Horta or Guimard, who were all inspired by Viollet-le-Duc,
The château de Roquetaillade served as a setting for several films, including Fantômas contre Scotland Yard (Fantomas against Scotland Yard) with Jean Marais, Mylène Demongeot and Louis de Funès, Le Pacte des loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf )with Vincent Cassel, Docteur Popaul (Dr. Popaul ) with Jean-Paul Belmondo, Les Séducteurs (Sunday Lovers ) with Roger Moore.
The official Château de Roquetaillade : https://www.roquetaillade.eu/decouvrir
The Gironde dept 33 tourist office on the castle : https://www.gironde-tourisme.com/en/patrimoine-culturel/chateau-de-roquetaillade/
The Bordeaux tourist office on the castle : https://www.bordeaux-tourisme.com/patrimoine-culturel/chateau-roquetaillade.html
There you go folks, another wonderful spot in my road warrior trails of my belle France, This is architecture, history and a lot more ; one of the gems of the Gironde, worth the detour , me think, Again, hope you enjoy this unique post on the château de Roquetaillade as I
And remember, happy travels , good health and many cheers to all !!! The Château de Roquetaillade !!!
I like to tell you again about my road warrior trails in my belle France. Again, found me an older paper picture of something wonderful, glad I did find it and will need to show it to the world, I like to do justice to the place and give you an introduction, Therefore, here is my take on the château de Roquetaillade !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The Château de Roquetaillade is in the village of Mazères, located in the Gironde department 33 in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, It is 51 km from Bordeaux,, On the site there are two castles , the “old castle” and the “new castle”, and a chapel in the same fortified enclosure which was once an important town. The castle has never been sold, Roquetaillade is one of the rare castles in France always inhabited by the same family since its origins !
Roquetaillade means “cut in the rock”. The existence on the site of natural caves and a rocky piton, which makes the place favorable to a human installation from prehistory. Many cut flints found on the spot testify to this presence and are today visible in the castle reception room. Today Roquetaillade presents itself as follows: the “old castle” whose vestiges of stone date back to the 10C; and the “new castle” which dates from the beginning of the 14C built at the request of Gaillard de la Motte, nephew of Pope Clément V. It was renovated twice: in the 16C but also in the 19C by Viollet-le-Duc , which undertakes an important decoration work there. And the Saint-Michel chapel which in the 12C was that of the village.
If the Château de Roquetaillade has never been sold and has always been transmitted by inheritance, the name of the family has changed three times since the origins. In 1552, Catherine de la Motte married Jean de Lansac and brought him the castle in a dowry. In 1789, Marie Henriette, daughter of the last Marquis de Lansac, married François de Laborie, bringing her in the lands and the castle. Under the French revolution, she divorces her husband in order to safeguard the family heritage, her husband who has joined the ranks of emigrants. In 1815, his daughter, Marie-Joséphine de Lansac, married Hippolyte de Mauvesin and brought the castle in her dowry. In 1864, their son, the marquis Lodoïs de Mauvesin and his wife Geneviève, born of Galard-Béarn, inherited Roquetaillade. They are the ones who will have the major interior arrangements carried out by Viollet-le-Duc. Having lost their only child, the Mauvesin transmit Roquetaillade to their cousin Hippolyte de Baritault, whose family still continues the maintenance of the castle today.
According to oral tradition, it is Charlemagne who erected in Roquetaillade a first wooden fort towards the end of the 8C. Subsequently, and until the 13C, the old castle underwent major modifications in 1274 was mentioned for the first time in the archives of a fortified village or Castelnau de Roquetaillade. These archives also report the presence in Roquetaillade de Bourgeois, which confirms that the agglomeration was wall closed. In 1466, the archives made Roquetaillade a city as important as Langon or La Réole. The city was slowly abandoned and, at the end of the 16C, it had completely disappeared. The only non-military building that remains today from that time is the Saint-Michel Chapel, from the end of the 13C. In the 19C, Viollet-le-Duc created an astonishing decor with in particular a ceiling with Moorish inspiration. In 1306, with the permission of King Edward I of England, Cardinal de la Motte, nephew of Pope Clément V, built a second fortress in Roquetaillade: the “new castle”. English influences are felt in the style of the building. This new construction of square plan with six towers and a central dungeon concentrated all the latest innovations and techniques of active defense The Château de Roquetaillade, as well as the other so-called mild castles are the first examples of palaces in France.
It was in 1864 that Lodois de Mauvesin and his wife decided to update the old castle and transform the interiors The site will last from 1864 to 1878, with an interruption after the fall of Napoleon III in 1870. In 1871, Viollet-le-Duc, sentenced to death by the City uprisers of Paris, went into exile in Switzerland, after a four-year judgment, Edmond Duthoit finished the project between 1875 and 1879. Roquetaillade is the only example in France of a complete operation executed by Viollet-le-Duc: catering, creation, decoration, furniture, social organization and stewardship. The decorations of Viollet-le-Duc announced before the hour Art Nouveau by their organic arabesques, the shimmering colors, the fantastic bestiary, as well as a whole furniture inspired by its dictionaries. It is a dictatorship of style where nothing is forgotten and without any room for something else, a “total art”, aesthetic system that Viollet-le-Duc had tried to impose on the fine arts but which will be taken up by some artists claiming to be Art Nouveau like Gaudi, Horta or Guimard, who were all inspired by Viollet-le-Duc,
The château de Roquetaillade served as a setting for several films, including Fantômas contre Scotland Yard (Fantomas against Scotland Yard) with Jean Marais, Mylène Demongeot and Louis de Funès, Le Pacte des loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf )with Vincent Cassel, Docteur Popaul (Dr. Popaul ) with Jean-Paul Belmondo, Les Séducteurs (Sunday Lovers ) with Roger Moore.
The official Château de Roquetaillade : https://www.roquetaillade.eu/decouvrir
The Gironde dept 33 tourist office on the castle : https://www.gironde-tourisme.com/en/patrimoine-culturel/chateau-de-roquetaillade/
The Bordeaux tourist office on the castle : https://www.bordeaux-tourisme.com/patrimoine-culturel/chateau-roquetaillade.html
There you go folks, another wonderful spot in my road warrior trails of my belle France, This is architecture, history and a lot more ; one of the gems of the Gironde, worth the detour , me think, Again, hope you enjoy this unique post on the château de Roquetaillade as I
And remember, happy travels , good health and many cheers to all !!!
Roquetaillade means “cut in the rock”. The existence on the site of natural caves and a rocky piton, which makes the place favorable to a human installation from prehistory. Many cut flints found on the spot testify to this presence and are today visible in the castle reception room. Today Roquetaillade presents itself as follows: the “old castle” whose vestiges of stone date back to the 10C; and the “new castle” which dates from the beginning of the 14C built at the request of Gaillard de la Motte, nephew of Pope Clément V. It was renovated twice: in the 16C but also in the 19C by Viollet-le-Duc , which undertakes an important decoration work there. And the Saint-Michel chapel which in the 12C was that of the village.
If the Château de Roquetaillade has never been sold and has always been transmitted by inheritance, the name of the family has changed three times since the origins. In 1552, Catherine de la Motte married Jean de Lansac and brought him the castle in a dowry. In 1789, Marie Henriette, daughter of the last Marquis de Lansac, married François de Laborie, bringing her in the lands and the castle. Under the French revolution, she divorces her husband in order to safeguard the family heritage, her husband who has joined the ranks of emigrants. In 1815, his daughter, Marie-Joséphine de Lansac, married Hippolyte de Mauvesin and brought the castle in her dowry. In 1864, their son, the marquis Lodoïs de Mauvesin and his wife Geneviève, born of Galard-Béarn, inherited Roquetaillade. They are the ones who will have the major interior arrangements carried out by Viollet-le-Duc. Having lost their only child, the Mauvesin transmit Roquetaillade to their cousin Hippolyte de Baritault, whose family still continues the maintenance of the castle today.
According to oral tradition, it is Charlemagne who erected in Roquetaillade a first wooden fort towards the end of the 8C. Subsequently, and until the 13C, the old castle underwent major modifications in 1274 was mentioned for the first time in the archives of a fortified village or Castelnau de Roquetaillade. These archives also report the presence in Roquetaillade de Bourgeois, which confirms that the agglomeration was wall closed. In 1466, the archives made Roquetaillade a city as important as Langon or La Réole. The city was slowly abandoned and, at the end of the 16C, it had completely disappeared. The only non-military building that remains today from that time is the Saint-Michel Chapel, from the end of the 13C. In the 19C, Viollet-le-Duc created an astonishing decor with in particular a ceiling with Moorish inspiration. In 1306, with the permission of King Edward I of England, Cardinal de la Motte, nephew of Pope Clément V, built a second fortress in Roquetaillade: the “new castle”. English influences are felt in the style of the building. This new construction of square plan with six towers and a central dungeon concentrated all the latest innovations and techniques of active defense The Château de Roquetaillade, as well as the other so-called mild castles are the first examples of palaces in France.
It was in 1864 that Lodois de Mauvesin and his wife decided to update the old castle and transform the interiors The site will last from 1864 to 1878, with an interruption after the fall of Napoleon III in 1870. In 1871, Viollet-le-Duc, sentenced to death by the City uprisers of Paris, went into exile in Switzerland, after a four-year judgment, Edmond Duthoit finished the project between 1875 and 1879. Roquetaillade is the only example in France of a complete operation executed by Viollet-le-Duc: catering, creation, decoration, furniture, social organization and stewardship. The decorations of Viollet-le-Duc announced before the hour Art Nouveau by their organic arabesques, the shimmering colors, the fantastic bestiary, as well as a whole furniture inspired by its dictionaries. It is a dictatorship of style where nothing is forgotten and without any room for something else, a “total art”, aesthetic system that Viollet-le-Duc had tried to impose on the fine arts but which will be taken up by some artists claiming to be Art Nouveau like Gaudi, Horta or Guimard, who were all inspired by Viollet-le-Duc,
The château de Roquetaillade served as a setting for several films, including Fantômas contre Scotland Yard (Fantomas against Scotland Yard) with Jean Marais, Mylène Demongeot and Louis de Funès, Le Pacte des loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf )with Vincent Cassel, Docteur Popaul (Dr. Popaul ) with Jean-Paul Belmondo, Les Séducteurs (Sunday Lovers ) with Roger Moore.
The official Château de Roquetaillade : https://www.roquetaillade.eu/decouvrir
The Gironde dept 33 tourist office on the castle : https://www.gironde-tourisme.com/en/patrimoine-culturel/chateau-de-roquetaillade/
The Bordeaux tourist office on the castle : https://www.bordeaux-tourisme.com/patrimoine-culturel/chateau-roquetaillade.html
There you go folks, another wonderful spot in my road warrior trails of my belle France, This is architecture, history and a lot more ; one of the gems of the Gironde, worth the detour , me think, Again, hope you enjoy this unique post on the château de Roquetaillade as I
And remember, happy travels , good health and many cheers to all !!! 
Paris1972-Versailles2003 