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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Maÿtie, also called Castle of Andurain, was built at the end of the sixteenth century by Pierre de Maÿtie, member of a local lineage having given three bishops of Oloron. Its Renaissance architecture combines elegance (windows with shingles, mascarons) and robustness, with a triple hull ship frame, rare example of medieval ingenuity. The building, rectangular plan flanked by towers, reflects the prestige of his family, linked to the Counter-Reform under Henry IV.

In 1661, the revolt of the parish priest Matalas, a peasant resistance movement, led to the destruction of one of the four original towers, never rebuilt. The castle, which has remained in the same family since its construction, houses remarkable interiors: arched staircases, baroque fireplaces decorated with the weapons of Arnaud de Maÿtie (bishop of Oloron in 1598), and seven furnished rooms open to the public. Its shingle roof, supported by the naval structure, dominates a complex supplemented by outbuildings and a pigeon-house.

Ranked a historic monument in stages (inscription in 1925, partial classification in 1953, and total protection of the southern wing in 2005), the castle illustrates the religious and seigneurial history of the inland Basque Country. Private property of the Andurain of Azémar de Fabrègues, it is visited in summer, offering an intact testimony of the art of living aristocratic in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Its antique furniture, rare books and carved decorations make it a major cultural site in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

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