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Origin and history

The Urtubia Castle, located in Urrugne near Saint-Jean-de-Luz, came into being in 1341 when Martin de Tartas obtained permission from King Edward III of England (then Duke of Aquitaine) to build a stone castle to protect the border. This first building, with a dungeon, walls and ditches, was destroyed in 1497 by Marie de Sault of Urtubia after an estate dispute with her husband Jean of Montreal. King Louis XII authorized his reconstruction in 1505, entrusted to Louis de Montréal, son of John, who erected a new castle on the ruins of the previous one.

In the 16th century, the castle changed hands several times through marriage alliances and trials. In 1574, the marriage between Jean d'Alzate and Aimée de Montréal ended family disputes, and their descendant Salvat d'Alzate obtained in 1654 the erection of Urtubia as a vicomte. The castle already housed a rich collection of tapestries, including a Flemish hanging offered in thanks for the hospitality granted to the court of Louis XIV during the negotiations of the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1660).

A major renovation campaign took place in 1745 under Pierre de Lalande and his wife Ursule d'Alzate, transforming the castle: filling the moat to create an English park, adding a south wing, an orangery, and a Louis XV staircase. The interiors were enriched with antique furniture (Empire, Boulle) and baroque decorations, such as the naval-framed chapel. The castle, classified as a Historic Monument since 1974, has been owned by Coral's family since 1893, after having passed through the hands of Larralde and Labat in the 19th century.

Among the remarkable elements, the 14th century dungeon remains partially, as do the towers of the gate and the fragments of courtines. The interior preserves tapestries from the 16th and 18th centuries, family portraits, and a bathroom of the First Empire fed by a source discovered in 1830. The castle was also the scene of a stay of Louis XI in 1463, during a mediation between the kings of Castile and Aragon.

The architecture reflects these historical strata: the L-shaped house body combines medieval remains (murder, round road) with classical additions (lucarns, wrought iron ramp). The ditches, partially filled, give way to a piece of water near the old Larraldenia farm, built in 1845. The estate, open to the public, illustrates the evolution of a Basque seigneury in aristocratic residence, marked by border conflicts and marital strategies.

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