Château de Mauvezin

About

Mauvezin Castle is a castle of medieval origin, located in the French department of Hautes-Pyrénées in Occitanie region, on the territory of the municipality of Mauvezin near Capvern.

History: The site, occupied from the protohistory, turned into a castrum in the High Middle Ages. A castle was built in the 11th century by the Counts of Bigorre. It was rebuilt by Gaston Fébus around 1380. He remained in the family of the Béarn-Foix who later became kings of Navarre, and thus passed to Henry IV. It became obsolete after Bigorre's attachment to the Kingdom of France in 1607; It's the end of the defensive castles. He was gradually dismantled, his stones being used for other constructions. While it was in ruins, the local tradition made the castle a Sabbath place for the sorcerers of the region. Today, the castle is being restored and houses a historical and folk museum of Béarn and Bigorre. The castle and the dungeon of Gaston Fébus were inscribed historical monument by order of 22 December 1941. Mauvezin Castle preserves the Escòla Gaston Fèbus library.