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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Occitanie
  4. Pyrénées-Orientales
  5. 66760 Porta

  6. Carol Castle

 Carol Castle à Porta dans les Pyrénées-Orientales

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château fort
Pyrénées-Orientales

Carol Castle

    Rue du Château Carol
    66760 Porta
Château de Carol
Château de Carol
Château de Carol
Château de Carol
Château de Carol
Château de Carol
Château de Carol
Château de Carol
Crédit photo : Jack ma - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Haut Moyen Âge
Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1011
First mention of the place
2 janvier 1243
First mention of the castle
1344
Submission to Peter IV of Aragon
XIIIe siècle
Construction of towers
1399
Inventory of weapons
1463
French occupation
1493
Return to Aragon
1659
Demolition after Treaty of the Pyrenees
2 mai 1927
Registration for historical monuments
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Feudal Castle of Carol (Reests of the Elder) (cad. 1927 F 263): inscription by order of 2 May 1927

Key figures

Jacques Ier d'Aragon - King of Aragon Author of the first document mentioning the castle (1243).
Jacques III de Majorque - King of Majorca Owner of the castle before 1344.
Pierre IV d'Aragon - King of Aragon Takes control of the castle in 1344.
Jean II d'Aragon - King of Aragon Signatory of the Treaty of Olite (1462).
Louis XI - King of France Order the occupation of the Roussillon in 1463.
Ferdinand II d'Aragon - King of Aragon Recover the castle after 1493.

Origin and history

Carol Castle, also known as Querol Castle, is an ancient medieval castle located in Porta, in the Eastern Pyrenees. Mentioned for the first time in 1243 in a document by James I of Aragon, its towers date from the twelfth or thirteenth centuries, while the enclosure was built a little later. This strategic site, built on a peak rock, served as a military checkpoint in the Cerdagne region.

In the 14th century, the castle belonged to King James III of Majorca before submitting to Peter IV of Aragon in 1344. In 1399, an inventory revealed the presence of weapons such as bombs, crossbows and breastplates, confirming its defensive role. Occupied by the French in 1463 after the Treaty of Olite, he was returned to the Aragon in 1493, then demolished after the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), which linked the Roussillon to France.

Today, there are only two quadrangular towers with murderers and niches, as well as vestiges of the enclosure. The site, owned by the commune, has been listed as historical monuments since 1927. By 1719, its advantageous position on a steep rock on the riverside had even led to a reconstruction project, never completed.

The excavations and historical documents show that the castle was a garrison, with five men in 1345, and a command point attached to Puigcerdà. Its architecture, typical of medieval castles, reflects the conflicts between crowns of Aragon and France for the control of the Pyrenees.

The sources, such as Catalunya Romanica and the works of Lucien Bayrou, underline its importance in medieval military architecture between Carcassonne and Perpignan. Today, the site offers a tangible testimony of feudal struggles and defensive strategies in Roussillon.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum