Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Aphat, mentioned from 1360 under the name of palacio dapate, is an old fortified house located on the way to Compostela by Roncevaux. Its origins date back at least to the 15th century, when the four round towers surrounding a body of square houses were built. The thick walls, made of limestone, and the murderers still visible in the towers recall its initial defensive vocation. The north facade, more neat with its regular stones, suggests aesthetic concern or increased exposure to attacks, while the other elevations have an irregular apparatus.

In the 16th century, the castle underwent notable changes, particularly in terms of openings, some of which lost their hinges. The early entrance gate, located in the north, was murmured and replaced in the 18th century by a new entrance to the northeast, as evidenced by the inscription PAX SIT HUIC DOMUI RENOVATA ANO 1731 accompanied by the arms of the Etxepare of Sarrasquette. This restoration campaign of 1731 marked a turning point in the history of the monument, with a reorganization of the facades and the addition of a symmetrical three-span order. Dependencies seem to date back to the 19th century.

The seigneury of Aphat changed hands several times: belonging to the family of Ahax in 1413, it passed to the Saint Esteben in the 16th century, then to the Lostal of Saint-Palais at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1664 it was transmitted by marriage to the Etchepare de Sarrasquette, before being acquired in the nineteenth century by the Van den Zande family, from which the present owners descended. The castle, inscribed in the Historical Monuments since 1970 for its facades and roofs, preserves medieval elements such as the staircase in a screw without day in the western tower, as well as traces of its role in the Navarre seigneurial network, evoked from 1313 under the name of appate.

External links