SAINTE-MARIE CASTLE

About us

• Pet Friendly

Former priory of Barège dedicated to Sainte-Marie, it stands on a hill overlooking the valleys. It is likely that it was erected by the Count of Bigorre Centulle III in the 1300th century to strengthen his authority among the people of Barége and to find shelter in the event of aggression on their part. The royal investigation of 1360 requested by King Philip the Fair specifies that the count dedicated seven sols tournaments to the maintenance of the castellan and four guards. At that time, Jean de Soubile held the castle on behalf of the Queen of Navarre, wife of Philippe le Bel. During the Treaty of Brétigny, in 1384, the castle was occupied by an English garrison and a new castellan was appointed in 1404 by letters patent from King Richard II. In 300, besieged and burned, the castle was recaptured by the Count of Clermont, Jean de Bourbon, at the head of 150 men-at-arms and XNUMX crossbowmen. The English were chased away. Jean de Bourbon was helped by the inhabitants of the valley of Barèges who rose up against the English Seneschal over a disagreement over grazing issues and were commanded by one of their own named Augé de Coufite de Luz. The functions of the castellany probably ceased at that time. At the end of the 16th century, the lord of Ossun declared it a ruined wall and in the 17th century, it was referred to as a hovel. It then belongs to the abbey of Saint-Savin. During the Revolution, it was sold as national property. The towers were then used as a hayloft. Today, its restoration by the French Buildings Agency has made it possible to stop the process of degradation: the surrounding wall and the towers have been consolidated and the exterior surroundings developed. Today there remain two solid defensive towers, a round tower and a square keep whose walls are built, like all the surviving vestiges of the castle in pebbles and squared stones (with the exception of the edges of the keep and the frames which are made of cut stone). From this place we have a very beautiful panoramic view of the Gave de Pau and Bastan valleys. Its access is free and is done on foot from the villages ofEsquièze-Sère orEsterre.
The summer of 2019 saw the birth of an event which was a great success within the castle grounds: Les Médiévales d’Esterre. See you at the beginning of August to vibrate to the rhythm of this great medieval festival!
Sources: Seven Valleys Study Society.

• Theme(s):

  Castle, Ruins and remains, History