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Origin and history

Laxague Castle, also called Latsaga Castle, was built in the second half of the 14th century on the territory of Ostabat-Asme in the Atlantic Pyrenees. It is the result of the extension of a 13th century strong house for Pes de Laxague, vassal of the kings of Navarre, without a strategic role but symbolizing their will to implant a faithful in a region marked by conflicts between the lords of Luxe and Gramont. The building adopts the Gascon architectural model, unique in Lower Navarre with the castle of Guiche, combining a fortified enclosure, a peg tower, and a scald.

The construction was commissioned by Pes (or Peas) de Laxague, a courtman of Kings Charles II and Charles III of Navarre, ambassador and chamberlain. Born around 1320, he took part in battles like Cocherel (1364), served in campaigns in Italy and Albania, and died in 1393 at the castle. His inheritance passed to his nephew Bertrand de Saint-Engrace, before the castle became royal property and then agricultural in the 19th and 20th centuries. The facades and roofs were classified as Historic Monument in 1988.

Architecturally, the castle incorporates a large rectangular limestone house, with thick walls (1.45 m), murderers, and sled windows. The tower with a harrow and the hexagonal (partly ruined) harrow testify to its evolution. In the 15th to 16th centuries, modifications brought more comfort ( basket handle door, expanded windows). Abandoned in the 17th–18th century, it was reused as a farm in the 19th century. Archaeological excavations in 2001–2002 allowed the study of its history.

The site is linked to the church of Saint John d'Asme (destroyed in the 19th century), where Pes de Laxague was buried in 1393. His funeral chapel, now extinct, housed a grave carved by Guillem de Arnauchea. The castle illustrates the political dynamics of the 14th century, between seigneurial loyalties and royal ambitions, in a context of local rivalries and crusades.

Private property for centuries, the castle of Laxague is today an equestrian farm. Although partially in ruins (north turn, scauguette), it retains remarkable medieval elements, such as the vaulted room of the square tower or the grooves of the herse. Its inscription in the Historical Monuments protects its facades and roofs, stressing its heritage importance in the Basque Country interior.

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