Château de Pézenas

About

The site of the Château de Pézenas, a ruined medieval castle in the French town of Pézenas, in the department of Hérault. A castle is first mentioned on the site, a butte just outside and dominating the town, around 990. However, a plaque on the site claims that it was founded by the Celts in 407BC and that the site was also a fortress of Julius Caesar.

A document of 1118 records that the Count of Béziers, Bernard Athon, ceded the castelum of Pézenas to his son, Raimon. Louis VIII, in 1226, and Louis IX in 1252, continued here. The castle became a royal castellany in 1262.

The last castle was originally built by the Duc de Montmorency, François de Montmorency in 1575 on the domain of Granges des Près. It had seven flowers, one of which was used as a chapel. The river, the Peyne, flowed along its walls.

During the 17th century, Cardinal Richelieu, sworn enemy of the Duc de Montmorency Henri II, had promised to abolish the States of the Languedoc, feeling them were too strong and independent of the kingdom of Louis XIII. Following Henri's revolt at the head of the Languedoc States, in 1632 (or 1633, granting to tourist information at the site), Richelieu ordered the castle to be destroyed...