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Origin and history

The Château de Portes, built in the early 11th century, is a strategic castle located 577 meters above sea level on the Pass de Portes in the Gard department. It controlled the way of Regordane, a medieval route taken by the pilgrims of Saint-Gilles and the merchants linking the Central Massif to the Mediterranean. Its location offered an exceptional panorama, from Mont Lozère to the Alps, and allowed to collect a toll on passengers and goods. No archaeological evidence confirms the existence of an anterior castrum, but its progressive evolution around an initial square tower seems probable, linked to the monitoring of this ancestral passage.

The first written mention of the castle dates back to the 11th century, possibly under the impulse of Raymond I of Anduze (approx. 1047–1114), the first known lord of Portes. The site then passes to the house of Anduze, then by inheritance to Guillaume de Châteauneuf-Randon via his maternal grandmother. In 1321, Raymond Guilhem de Budos, nephew of Pope Clement V, acquired the Barony of the Portes-Bertrand and enlarged the castle in the 13th century, adding at least two towers. The fortress, strategically strengthened, changed hands during the Hundred Years War: Thibaud de Budos recovered it in 1384 after the confiscation to his father André de Budos, an ally of the English.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the castle was gradually redesigned to adapt to new military techniques (glacis, barbacan, artillery platforms). During the Wars of Religion, the family of Budos, a leaguer, saw its lands erected as vicomte (1583) by Henry III, who rewarded James I of Budos for his services. The south-east bastion, raised between 1570 and 1580, illustrates these defensive transformations. In 1613, Marie de Médicis erected the seigneury as a marquisate for Antoine Hercule de Budos, a camp marshal killed at the siege of Privas (1629). In 1693, the lineage with Marie-Felice de Budos, whose inheritance passed to his nephew, the Prince of Conti, before being sold to Louis XVI in 1781.

The Revolution nationalized the castle, which changed its owners six times in the 19th century. In 1841 the family of La Vernède acquired and undertook restorations. However, the intensive coal mining during the First World War caused the partial collapse of the basement of Portes in 1929, seriously damaging the castle and the village. The latter was shaved in 1933 and rebuilt elsewhere. In the 1960s, mining galleries were filled to stabilize the building, but the medieval part remained in ruins. In 1969, the inhabitants mobilized for its safeguard, leading to the creation of the Renaissance association of the Château de Portes (1972). Ranked a historic monument in 1984, he became Ambassador of the Cevennes National Park (UNESCO World Heritage) in 2011.

Architecturally, the castle is distinguished by its 49 degree spur, evoking a ship's bow, giving it the nickname of "ship in Cevennes". The site illustrates six centuries of evolution of fortified techniques, from medieval towers to Renaissance artillery installations. Today owned by heirs Coquebert de Neuville, it is managed by the association RCP, which organizes volunteer projects, visits (spring-fall), and cultural events. The castle also bears witness to local economic upheavals linked to mining (iron, silver, coal) since ancient times.

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