Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Guiche, built in the 13th, 14th and 16th centuries, stands on a rocky ridge overlooking the Bidouze River. Its architecture combines a rectangular enclosure (20x30 m) with taluted walls, a seigneurial dungeon of 13x13 m with trilobed geminous bays, and a square tower-gate on four levels (arched ground floor, guardroom, brick vaulted floor, and breech). Remnants of secondary buildings remain in the inner courtyard, while a lower courtyard was in the west. The defence was based on courtines equipped with crows, a herse and a drawbridge, reinforced in the 16th century by a bastioned work.

The seigneury, attested from 1080 under English mobility, is marked by recurrent conflicts. In 1257, the bayonnais boatmen set fire to the castle, rebuilt in the second half of the 13th century. In the middle of the 14th century, the Albrets, Viscounts of Tartas, became the owners, opposing the Gramonts of Bidache until the peace of 1348. The square tower was built at that time, and then rebuilt in the 15th century. In 1444, the seigneury passed under the tutelage of the king of Navarre, Henri VI, who lay in county for Louis de Beaumont. After hand changes (taken by Gaston IV de Foix in 1449, surrenders to the Gramonts in 1485 and then 1534), the castle was ruined in 1523 by a Spanish raid.

Architecturally, the quadrangular dungeon is inspired by medieval Basque Torres Casas, such as those of Ustarits or Garro in Hasparren. The seigneurial house, occupied on the second floor of the dungeon, reflects a noble occupation, while the gate tower integrates defensive elements (dogive vault, breeches) and logistics (guard room communicating with the round road). In the 16th century, a bastion strengthened the northwest side. Despite its gradual ruin, the site retains traces of its strategic role in the tensions between the kingdoms of Navarre, England and France, as well as local rivalries between noble families (Albret, Gramont).

External links