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Origin and history

The château de la Roquette, now known as the château de Vivioures, is a medieval building located in the commune of Rouet, north of Montpellier, in the Hérault department. Its ruins, perched between 225 and 300 meters above sea level on a ridge west of Hortus Mountain, face the Saint-Loup peak and the Montferrand fortress. This strategic site offered a remarkable defensive position, while serving as a home for its occupants.

The first mention of the castle dates back to the 12th century under the name Castrum de Rocheta, when it belonged to the Count of Melgueil (Mauguio). Used as a stronghold and residence, it was then abandoned in the 16th century by the Lautrec family, gradually falling into ruins. In 1689, he was described as a "ruined and uninhabitable visix chasteau", losing even his original name to the nearby Bevieurs mas, whose family occupied the place until the eighteenth century. The toponym Vivioures would thus derive from the well-living occitan ("place where it is good to live"), linked to this family.

In the 19th century, the remains were partially dismantled. In 1841, the Count of Vogüé sold the ruins to a mason of Saint-Martin-de-London, while recovering the arms of the Roquefeuil-Fay-Pér aut de la Porte to integrate them into his château du Cros. The Société Archéologique de Montpellier saved an intact door, now exposed in the courtyard of the hotel in Varennes. The remains of the castle were listed as historical monuments in 1940, then the entire site was protected by a decree of 3 June 2025.

The ruins extend over the communes of Rouet and Valflaunes, covering precise cadastral plots (n°189, 190 in Rouet and n°236, 404 in Valflaunes). Their location, although known, is considered to be satisfactory a priori accuracy (level 6/10), with approximate GPS coordinates pointing towards the road to Saint-Martin-de-London. The site, although protected, does not appear open to visit according to available sources.

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