Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Jonquières Castle is a building from the 3rd quarter of the 17th century, built between 1656 and 1660 for Bernardin de Latude, as evidenced by dates engraved on two doors. It replaces an anterior castle and is organized around a central courtyard, with a housing body flanked by two circular towers, a north wing dedicated to the communes, and a south wing occupied by a seigneurial church. The entrance façade, preceded by a double-fly staircase decorated with sculptures (dogs crouched at the bottom of the ramps), gives access to a terrace and a gallery connecting the floors. An isolated door in the park, richly carved (foliage, fruit, broken pediment), once marked the entrance to a play alley lined with orange trees, leading to two pavilions in the shape of round towers.

The site, mentioned as early as 1265 in the form of a castrum, was originally a modest rural fortification linked to the farming of a fertile plain. The modern castle, of classical style, preserves remains of the old structure (turns of angle) and perpetuates the residential and religious function of the place: the lords were buried there in the castral chapel, replaced by the present church. The park's facades, roofs, galleries, staircase and carved door have been protected as historical monuments since 1964.

The architecture reflects a social organization typical of the Languedoc seigneurial domains: the courtyard separated from the street by a grid symbolizes the distinction between private and public space, while the integration of the church into the castle highlights the spiritual and temporal power of the owners. The carved decorations (acanthe, fruit, broken pediments) bear witness to Baroque influences, rare in the region at that time.

Since 2016, the Beaumont family has been making annual visits to the castle during their Tour de France estival, presenting each year a new child to the Béarn and Cabissole family, owners or related to the place. This modern family tradition contrasts with the agricultural and seigneurial history of the estate, now partially open to the public (visits, rentals).

External links