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Origin and history

Aurignac Castle is a castle built in the 13th century, around 1230, under the impulse of Bernard V, Count of Comminges. Located in the commune of Aurignac (Haute-Garonne, Occitanie), it illustrates medieval military architecture with both Gothic and Romanesque influences. Its ruins, protected since 1979, reveal a complex defensive system, including up to three successive enclosures, one of which is now occupied by the city.

The inner enclosure, rectangular in shape, is flanked by turrets and foothills at four angles, evoking a functional dungeon. In the east, a single building occupied the entire width of this enclosure, probably the honorary hall of the castle. The cylindrical dungeon, divided into three floors, housed vaulted domes and oblivions on the ground floor. A castral chapel, identifiable by a monogram of Christ carved on its door, remains at the southern end of the first enclosure, now transformed into a parish church.

This monument stands out as one of the few Gothic military castles in the region, mixing advanced defensive elements with symbolic spaces such as the chapel. The ruins, owned by the commune, bear witness to the strategic importance of Aurignac in the Middle Ages. Their inscription in the historic monuments in 1979 underlines their heritage value, despite their partial condition.

Available sources (Wikipedia, Monumentum) confirm its comtal origin and its role in the Occitan feudal landscape. Accessible remains, such as the cylindrical tower or walls of the enclosure, make it possible to imagine the spatial organization of a castle designed for territorial control and seigneurial representation.

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