Chateau de Biron and Monpazier

The Chateau de Biron ... oh and Mum of course

Here I am, speeding southward on a train from Doncaster to London Kings X with free wifi.  Well that’s because I coughed up the extra bit to go first class.  It is worth it if you book advanced on Britain’s rail system as you can usually get some skookum First Class tickets for the price of Second Class, and in the process you get free food and drink.  Wish I had remembered that as I just paid for a coffee before getting on the train.  Duh!

The last steps/slope up to the entrance

Anyway, I digress.  I just spent 4 great days at my cousins but as such was not on the internet much and have not been able to finish my postings of Bergerac and Florence.  So here at least is one.

The view of the Chateau approaching by car

On Mum’s last full day we did a bit of a road trip, of which I have already written about the first half – Issigeac and Villereal.  However, after that we headed to Chateau de Biron.  Basically, in case for you English speaking folk out there, if there is any confusion, chateaus in France are the same as castles.  So needless to say, there are a lot of them of all shapes and sizes and in various states of repair and repose.

A section of the castle that shows evidence of the various additions and changes over the centuries

Well Chateau de Biron does not fail to take your breath away.  It was the castle from which the Gontaut-Biron took their name, their seat from the twelfth century. Biron was seized by the Cathars in 1211 and retaken by Simon IV de Montfort the following year. The Plantagenets held it at times during the 14th and 15th centuries. Biron was erected as a duché-pairie in 1598, for Charles de Gontaut, created duc de Biron.

The very old chapel on the Chateau terrace with the cistern infront of it

The present château bears additions over the centuries that make a picturesque ensemble: a twelfth century keep, sixteenth-century living quarters, a chapel and vaulted kitchens. The commune purchased the Château de Biron in 1978, with a view to restoring the structure as a tourist draw.  And considering the number of people that were there when we were there – it clearly has drawn tourists!

The old gatehouse and prison tower ... hey Mum ... where'd ya go!!??

What I loved about it was that it sat at the top of a hill over looking the countryside in all directions.  You can just imagine the Duc sitting there looking down at his plebes thinking, “hey, I gotta go collect some taxes!”

Mum ... step out of the fireplace ,..., big enough for you?

As always, as I am a sucker for history, I love roaming around the Chateau and checking out all its aspects.  The torture prison in the basement was pretty interesting too.

One of the displays of various torture "tools" ... hmmm ... this is giving me some ideas 🙂

So after a full discovery of this lovely structure, Mum and I headed to Monpazier, another bastide.  Although Monpazier was fairly quiet when we got there and I think Mum was getting a bit tired from walking, it was a manageable size to still walk around and take in the unique medieval town.

The central square in Monpazier

The bastide of Monpazier is one of “Plus beaux villages de France” and, as well as being the best preserved bastide in the Dordogne, it is considered the most typical example of a bastide in the entire south-west of France.

One of the several entrances to Monpazier medieval village

Monpazier was founded in 1284 by King Edward I of England with the help of Pierre de Gontaut, Lord of Biron, and it was only during the reign of King Charles V of France (1366-1380) that the bastide became definitively French.
In 1574 treachery allowed the Huguenot captain, Geoffroi de Vivans, to gain control of Monpazier and in 1594 was it was one of the sites of the Peasant’s Revolt (la révolte des Croquants).

The narrow alleyways between rows of houses.

Despite the ravages of time and war (the Hundred Years War and the Wars of Religion) Monpazier has remained remarkably unchanged during its seven hundred year long existence.

Medieval houses surrounding the square

Four hundred metres by two hundred and twenty, the town is perfectly quadrilateral and the streets run parallel to the longest sides from one end of the town to the other. These are crossed by four transversal streets thus dividing the town into rectangular compartments.

Medieval Mum Mocks Monpazier!! hee hee

The central Place des Cornières is surrounded by medieval and seventeenth-century houses.

Stairs to ... no where ... til I reach the end ... oh yeah ... to be there (a kind of Cat Stevens rip off ... if you know the tune)

Unusually, all of Monpazier’s houses were originally exactly the same size and separated from one another by narrow side alleys or «androns » to prevent the spread of fire.  Although the logic of this I don’t get.

Beauty in the simplicity of antiquity