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The Château de Beaucens, is a 14th-century ruined castle in the commune of Beaucens in the Hautes-Pyrénées département of France.^[1] The site has been transformed into a zoological park, the "Donjon des Aigles" (eagles' keep), where one may admire birds of prey in flight around the ruins of the castle, with a view over the vallée des Gaves.

History

Construction of the castle began in 1037. Altered and expanded several times,^[2] it was the property of the Viscounts of Castet-Loubon^[3] commonly known as the Viscounts of Lavedan. It was the normal residence of the viscountcy, the most powerful in Bigorre with vast possessions including seventeen towns in the Barèges valley,^[4] They owned it for several centuries, but from the 15th century, they rarely stayed there, using it only when conducting business in the area.

In 1560, in events leading up to the French Wars of Religion, the Viscount, as a Huguenot, saw his castle pillaged by Catholic forces.^[5]

The castle was inhabited in 1643, when it belonged then to the house of Montaut-Bénac^[6]

Madame de Motteville stayed at the castle for the wedding of Louis XIV^[7] and Maria Theresa of Spain, on 9 June 1660 at the church of Saint John the Baptiste in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. She compared it to the palace of the fairy Urgande.^[8]

Prince Charles Louis Gaspard de Rohan-Rochefort, the 31st and last viscount, who lived there, had married his cousin, Marie Louise Joséphine de Rohan.^[9] He was extremely unpopular with the population of Bigorre.^[10] In 1792, during the French Revolution, he fled to Austria leaving behind his wife - she asked for and received a divorce - and his papers. When the castle was set on fire, they were lost. The Princess managed to keep some of the property, including the castle: in 1802 she sold all of the possessions in Bigorre. The castle then belonged to a succession of owners.^[2]

An earthquake in 1854 caused part of the enceinte to collapse.^[11] In 1856, the castle became the property of Achille Marcus Fould (1800 - 1867), the famous banker and politician. He was Minister of Finance during the Second Republic under Napoleon III and Minister of State from 1852 to 1860 during the Second Empire of Napoleon III.^[12] The castle was restored by Fould^[13] but remained a ruin overgrown by vegetation.^[2]

It was inscribed on the list of monuments historiques in 1927.^[1]

Legend of the eagle and the trout

In the Bigorre region, legend tells of a long siege of the castle by Charlemagne which ended because an eagle with a trout in its beak led the besiegers to believe that the castle had abundant fresh food.^[14]

Geology

At the foot of the castle is a cold sulfurous spring which was drunk by the inhabitants of Beaucens and a lead mine in the rock on which the castle stands.^[15]

Donjon des aigles

Since 1973, the castle has housed one of the world's most important collections of birds of prey: : kites, vulture, eagles, sea eagles, falcons and buzzards. Displays are given featuring an Egyptian vulture, who breaks an imitation ostrich egg with a stone, as well as a condor, various owls, parakeets and parrots.

View of the castle
Donjon des Aigles in 2013

References

^ ^a ^b Base Mérimée: Restes du château, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
^ ^a ^b ^c "Le château de Beaucens", Commune de Beaucens web site (in French) Retrieved 29 November 2018. (in French)
^ Corneille, Thomas (1708). Dictionnaire universel, géographique et historique. Contenant la description des royaumes, empires, estats,...; La situation, l'estendue, les limites, les distances de chaque pays; La religion, les mœurs, les coustumes, le commerce; Les cérémonies, particulières des peuples (in French). Jean Baptiste Coignardlieu. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
^ Davezac-Macaya, Armand (1823). Essais historiques sur le Bigorre (in French). Vol. 2. A. Davezac-Macaya. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
^ A and F Meillon, "L'abbaye de Saint-Savin en Lavedan jusgu'a la Revolution", Bulletin de la Société académique des Hautes-Pyrénées, 1936, pages 767, 800. (in French) Retrieved 29 November 2018.
^ Cénac-Moncaut, Justin-Édouard (1856). Voyage archéologique et historique dans l'ancien comté de Bigorre (in French). Retrieved 29 November 2018. Justin-Édouard M. Cénac-Moncaut mentions the earthquake of July 1854 which so strongly shook the base of the square tower in the southwestern corner that it inevitably collapsed. Only the keep was built strong enough.
^ Victor Adolphe Malte-Brun, La France illustrée: Géographie, histoire, administration et statistique Volume 2 (in French)
^ "Livre Vert de Bénac", Bulletin documentaire (Société académique des Hautes-Pyrénées), 1910, page 22. (in French) Retrieved 29 November 2018.
^ Henri de Curzon "Une fête de nuit à Paris à la fin du XVIIIe siecle", Journal des Débats Politiques et Litteraires, No. 65, 18 March 1938, page 4. (in French) Retrieved 29 November 2018.
^ L Ricaud, La Bigorre et les Haute-Pyrénées pendant la Révolution, reviewed in "Publications historiques sur la Region Pyrénéene" Revue de Gascoigne, vol XXXVI, January 1895 pages 216-7 (in French) Retrieved 29 November 2018.
^ Eugene Duviau, "Tremblements de terre et autre phenomenes extraordinaires remargues a Lourdes et ses environs", En cournè det houéc, winter 1938-39, page 124. (in French) Retrieved 29 November 2018.
^ du Sommerard, Edmond (1862). Catalogue et description des objets d'art, de l'antiquité, du moyen âge et de la renaissance (in French). Hôtel de Cluny. Retrieved 29 November 2018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ Anthyme Saint-Paul, "Une Excursion Archéologique dans le Bigorre", Bulletin monumental, Société française pour la conservation et la description des monuments historiques, 1866, see pages 739-747. This article provides a detailed architectural assessment of the castle and its history. (in French) Retrieved 29 November 2018.
^ A Curie-Seimbres (1864). "La Bastide de Rabastens, en Bigorre". Revue d'Aquitaine et du Languedoc (in French). 8: 109–119. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
^ A.J. Killian, A.J. (1825). Dictionnaire géographique universel, contenant la description de tous les lieux du globe intéressants sous le rapport de la géographie physique et politique, de l'histoire, de la statistique, du commerce, de l'industrie (in French). Vol. 2. Retrieved 29 November 2018.