France for Culture - France's Intriguing Castles

France has countless châteaux. Ranging from rugged hilltop retreats to the dream-like palaces along the Loire Valley, the châteaux of France have witnessed many of the major events in French history. Between them they have launched a thousand legends. Within their walls, plots have been hatched and dirty deeds done. Their towers and turrets have protected kings and queens, sheltered the besieged and provided centuries of work for armies of stonemasons. Today we admire them from afar and occasionally pace their corridors for an insight into a glorious past.

Housing some of the finest collections of furniture and works of art, French châteaux also harbour many a secret. Wander around some of these wonderful historic buildings and you will often sense the perfume of mystery or the odour of heresy. Almost all châteaux have tales to tell, but some are stranger than others. Here are five French châteaux that have seen more than their fair share of intrigue . . .

Château d’If

On an isolated island a few hundred yards offshore from Marseille stands the bleak and menacing Château d’If. Built in the early 16th century to protect the port it soon took on the more sinister role of containing political or religious prisoners. Boat trips to the island fortress leave from Marseille’s quai des Belges and visitors can tour the rather over-restored prison—strangely, it is particularly popular with Japanese tourists.

It is easy to imagine the appalling conditions the prisoners lived in. The place was either too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter. Often the walls were running in salt water from sea spray and there was no place to take any exercise.

The well in the small inner courtyard barely provided any water and the meagre quantities were usually brackish. Without air, space or light, the incarcerated slept on straw like animals. Many went insane or died before their sentence was up and many were imprisoned for the most bizarre reasons. One inmate called de Niozelles was given six years for failing to take his hat off in the presence of Louis XIV.

There were different grades of accommodation at Château d’If. The unlucky ones were dropped into oubliettes outside the château—these pits were only accessible via a hole in the roof. The ground floor of the château comprised many communal cells whereas the second floor housed les pistoles named after gold coins of the period. Prisoners had to pay for these private cells that had a fireplace, looked out at the islands or towards Marseille, and came with good quality meals.

Lintels above the doors of many of the individual cells are carved with the names of some of the better-known prisoners. One, the Count of Mirabeau who was imprisoned at Château d’If in 1774, was incarcerated on the orders of his father because of his gambling debts. Another celebrated inmate was The Man in the Iron Mask who really did exist—which is more than can be said for the most celebrated prisoner associated with this Mediterranean ‘Alcatraz’, the fictitious Count of Monte Cristo.

It was during a walk along the Marseille shoreline that author Alexander Dumas saw the prison. He became fascinated by the stories of those imprisoned within its austere walls and created Edmond Dantès, alias the Count of Monte Cristo.

This wrongly imprisoned hero was the only prisoner to escape from Château d’If. Real-life prisoners left behind graffiti scratched into the stone walls of their cells, but it was the shadow of the non-existent Edmond Dantès which has brought such infamy to this dungeon of injustice and today continues to bring boatloads of fascinated tourists.

Montségur

Tucked away among some of the prettiest of the Pyrenean foothills is one of the most curious châteaux in France. Montségur is an imposing ruined fortress perched on top of a vertiginous rocky peak. Its ghostly walls crystallize the brutal tragedy of the Cathars and the crusade against their so-called heresy. It was Montségur’s conical crag that witnessed the final chapter in what was a 13th-century holocaust. Access to the château is from a car park on the panoramic D9 that snakes between the Crête de Madoual and the Forêt de Corret. There is a precipitous path that first passes a tablet dedicated “aux martyrs du pur amour chrétien” before climbing to the top of the crag where the views are breathtaking.

At first glance, the château at Montségur appears to be triangular, but a closer inspection reveals that it is an uneven pentangle—a mystical shape during the Middle Ages. At the beginning of the 13th century, a château was built on the site to replace a ruined fortress.

In 1242 a community of Cathar refugees were based here and were blamed for a massacre of members of the Inquisition in Avignonet-Lauragais, some 35 miles due north as the crow flies. As a reprisal, the archbishop of Narbonne called for a siege of the Montségur citadel and it is said that a Catholic army of around 10,000 surrounded the crag. Nobody was allowed in or out and the siege lasted almost a year.

Under the cover of darkness the soldiers, helped by skilled mountain men, managed to assemble a large ballista and constantly bombarded the château with rocks. In the end a 15-day truce was called and the Cathars were given an ultimatum—reject their heretical beliefs or be burnt to death.

On 16 March 1244 more than 200 Cathars descended the crag in a long, dignified column and climbed the huge pyre that had been prepared for those choosing death. The soldiers set the pyre ablaze and all were martyred for their faith. What mystified those that witnessed the atrocity was the Cathars’ stoicism and self-assuredness in their plight.

Certain historians speak of a treasure, not necessarily a hoard of coins, but perhaps a cache of documents, that was hidden by the Cathars of Montségur. Legend has it that four of them escaped during the truce, taking their precious treasure with them. One theory was that it was hidden at another of France’s most curious châteaux which is just 25 miles away. . .

Rennes-le-Château

The road from Couiza to Rennes-le-Château is a pretty one with fine views over the Aude valley but the vistas from the hilltop village are even better. Yet nobody who climbs the four kilometres from the valley to this enigmatic village is here for the view, because Rennes-le-Château has been at the heart of a captivating mystery for more than 100 years. And it is not the 17th-century château that houses the mystery, but the nearby church.

It all began in 1885 when Bérenger Saunière was made curé of the poor parish of Rennes-le-Château.Suddenly, from 1890 onwards, Saunière was able to fund a total restoration of the church and build himself a lavish mansion, a semi-fortified library tower and a tropical greenhouse. He is also alleged to have lived like a duke right up until his death in 1917.

Nobody knew where the money came from. His poor parishioners were baffled and rumours began to emerge about a mysterious hoard of gold. Down the years hordes of French treasure hunters came to Rennes-le-Château in search of Saunière’s secret. Nothing was discovered. But these treasure seekers made such a mess that a by-law was passed in 1965 to ban excavations.

The whole subject was revealed to the English-speaking world by author and broadcaster Henry Lincoln who produced a programme called The Lost Treasure of Jerusalem as part of the BBC’s Chronicle series in 1972. He went on to produce two more programmes and wrote the best-selling The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, all of which were centred on Rennes-le-Château.

FRANCE Magazine became involved in the continuing search for answers when we published Henry Lincoln’s article The Riddle of Rennes-le-Château in our Winter 1994 issue.

In that article Henry Lincoln invited readers to help find a specific “church measure” joining notable landmarks on IGN maps throughout the whole of France. He had discovered that the measure formed a pentagram passing through Rennes-le-Château and four other landmarks. Many readers helped in his research, but there were no new revelations.

Then, in 2003, two academics—Bill Putnam and John Edwin Wood— published a highly readable book, The Treasure of Rennes-le-Château: A Mystery Solved, which examines in great detail all the possible theories and reveals an astounding hoax. The whole theory

of Saunière’s secret treasure is debunked in the book. Despite this, many people believe there is an exciting secret which is still waiting to be discovered.

Visitors to Rennes-le-Château can admire Saunière’s church, l’Église Ste-Marie-Madeleine, with its intriguing decorations and learn more about the story at l’Espace Bérenger Saunière which includes a museum housed in the old presbytery as well as the priest’s chapel, garden, library tower and mansion. Lacoste

The perched village of Lacoste in the Luberon is dominated by an imposing château. Largely ruined, but partly rebuilt, the château once had 42 rooms that must have witnessed some very odd goings on, for the last lord of the château was Donatien Alphonse-François, better known as the infamous Marquis de Sade.

The château at Lacoste was given to the Marquis by his grandfather on his wedding day and de Sade owned it for almost 30 years. In 1792 the château was looted, like many others in the post-Revolution days. The doors were smashed and the contents were thrown from the windows. Open to the elements, the place fell into ruin.

In 1952 a local man, André Bouër, bought the ruins and spent a great deal of time and money on restoring de Sade’s den of iniquity. In studying various official documents of the time, Bouër discovered that the entire first floor of the south wing was hidden behind a secret door. It is probable that this was de Sade’s ‘playground’.

Although the château has not risen completely from the ruins left after the Revolution and little of the mysterious south wing exists other than a section of wall, the secret doorway is apparently still there. For many years there have been plans to open the château to the public, but so far they have not come to fruition.

It is perhaps apt that the château becomes most dramatic as night falls. Every evening the proud silhouette of this semi-ruined citadel is bathed in an orange-yellow light. Gazing from below one can only imagine the horrors that took place within its secret wing.

Below is a video tour of Rennes-le-Château showing all the key sites.

Video by Geraint Hughes - www.thepodule.com

 

Bluebeard’s Castle at Tiffauges

Charles Perrault was a writer and leading member of the Académie Française during the 17th century. To amuse his children he wrote charming fairy stories including Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and Puss in Boots. One of his stories, Bluebeard, was inspired by a real-life scoundrel, Gilles de Rais, who rose to celebrity status before falling from grace.

The ruins of Gilles de Rais’ château can be visited at Tiffauges, a small town on the banks of the Sèvre Nantaise in the Vendée. The castle ruins and the story of its disreputable owner have made Tiffauges a popular destination for tourists. As a measure of Gilles de Rais’ wealth, the château ruins cover a massive seven-acre site within defensive walls. A 12th-century keep and 15th-century tower are the best-preserved elements.

One of the joys of a visit is the reconstruction of a medieval siege camp similar to the one that must have surrounded Montségur. Here you can see massive engines of war faithfully rebuilt according to ancient drawings.

Visitors can try their hand at bows and arrows or fire crossbows and there are regular displays of some early weapons of mass destruction.

A trebuchet hurls cannon balls more than 500 feet and mortars belch fire while men in medieval costume fire giant catapults. Bluebeard’s castle may be in ruins, but it helps to bring to life a chapter of medieval military history—and Gilles de Rais’ legend is as alive today as it has ever been.