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Origin and history

Montaner Castle is a former fortified castle built between 1374 and 1380 at the behest of Gaston Fébus, Count of Foix and Viscount of Béarn, to protect the borders of Béarn against Bigorre and Armagnac. The architect was Sicard de Lordat, and its construction involved Cagot carpenters from Béarn, who in exchange obtained tax privileges (exemption from the taille, a tax levied on the land) and the right to exploit the lord's forests. A notarial contract, signed in 1379 in the church of Pau, sealed this agreement, committing 88 Cagots to supply wood, timbers, and ironwork, under the direction of Pierre Doat, their master carpenter.

The fortress, designed as a symbol of power, combines a polygonal brick enclosure and a 40-meter square keep serving as a gate tower. The castle displays a copy of the Foix-Béarn coat of arms with the motto "Fébus mé fé" ("Fébus made me"), the count's trademark. The almost circular inner courtyard contains a well and buildings such as a great hall, kitchens, and living quarters equipped with washbasins. A second gate tower to the north, preceded by a barbican, reinforced the defenses. The walls, faced with pebbles arranged in a fern-like pattern, demonstrate an innovative military architecture for the time.

After Gaston Fébus's death, the castle changed hands several times: sold in 1398 by Jean d'Albret (King of Navarre) to Jean I de Foix for 15,000 gold écus, it became a strategic prize during regional conflicts. In the 16th century, governors such as Jean de Nays (arrested for embezzlement) and Henry de Montesquiou (an ancestor of d'Artagnan) succeeded one another there. Classified as a Historical Monument in 1854, the site was restored from the 1960s onwards by volunteers, then managed by the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department until 2025, when its management was entrusted to a private company, causing tension with local associations.

Montaner Castle is also a cultural site: it served as a backdrop for Eugène Green's film *The Living World* and has hosted medieval festivals (the Medieval Festival of Montaner) since the 1980s, attracting up to 18,000 visitors. These events, combining historical reenactment and education, were, however, discontinued in 2025 due to disagreements with the new management. The site remains a major testament to Gascon military architecture and the social history of Béarn, particularly through the role of the Cagots in its construction.

The castle's protected status extends to the keep (listed in 1980) and the entire fortified site (registered in 2021), including remains, moats, and the old village fortifications. Its keep, visible for miles, offered a strategic view of the Pyrenees mountain range and the roads leading from Tarbes to the Landes region, illustrating its geopolitical importance under Gaston Fébus.

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