Village and Château de Lagardère

The castle is located near the village of Lagardère. It is close to the ridge line that separates the Osse valley from that of the Baïse.

Lagardère is a former Castelnau. Its name refers to the idea of ​​a city thought of as a surveillance post.
In the Middle Ages, following a legacy from Géraud V, Count of Armagnac, Lagardère was ceded to the Abbey of Condom, which had a castle built there at the end of the 13th century. In Gascon style, it was designed as a lookout post monitoring the Osse Valley. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1922, the building is private.

History of the castle:
* In 1270, Géraud V Count of Armagnac gave the lands of Lagardère to the Abbey of Condom with authorization to build a fortress.
* In 1280, Abbot Guilhem de Nérac had a fortress built on the top of the small hill between 2 streams.
* A few years later, a dispute over the possession of the site opposed Condom Abbey to the Chapter.
* In 1317, the castle belonged to the Chapter.
* In 1578, the castle was purchased by Lord Pierre de Lavardac. It appears that gunboats are being built.
* In 1621, Alix de Lavardac sold the estate to the President of the Parliament of Toulouse: Jean de Manhiban. As the castle was not used as a residence by this new family, no architectural modifications were made for 170 years.
* In 1792, the Revolutionaries requisitioned it.
* In 1922, the castle was classified as a Historic Monument. Vegetation is slowly invading its old stones.
* At the end of the 20th century an association was created to safeguard it.
* In the 21st century, exploring the outdoors is open and free.

To travel through time and landscapes, take "La Clé des Champs!" and discover the gaze organ. Take the time to scrutinize this picture-postcard landscape to see both the present and the past.

At the foot of the castle mound a little to the west, the Saint-Laurent church has been dated to the 11th or 12th century. In Romanesque style, with a flat chevet (today rebuilt in a hemicycle), it underwent many alterations, the most important of which dates from the 16th century, following the Wars of Religion, after the passage of the Huguenot bands of Montgomery under the orders of Jeanne d'Albret (1569).
We find some Romanesque remains at the north portal which presents beautiful reused stones with a very rich chrism above the door and the arch in the middle redeveloped into a pointed arch.

Theme(s) : historical heritage, fortified castle, town/village.