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Origin and history

Tostat Castle, located in the Hautes-Pyrénées, finds its origins in the 14th century with the construction of a first house by Raymond de Bazillac, close to Philippe IV Le Bel. This medieval castle, surrounded by moat and built in bricks and stones, underwent several changes in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was then part of the Barony, then of the Marquisate of Bazillac, before being abandoned at the end of the seventeenth century when the family settled in Paris and Versailles. The estate, left abandoned, threatened to ruin around 1760.

In the 3rd quarter of the 18th century, a Marquis de Bazillac decided to shave the old house, preserving only the moat and part of the western walls. Between 1770 and 1785 he built the present castle, a classical four-storey building with a central forebody and symmetrical wings. The French Revolution interrupted interior finishes, forcing the family to flee. After 1800, the Marquis completed the work, with the exception of the outer pediment, and sumptuously decorated the interiors with gypsum, stucco and carved woodwork, typical of the eighteenth century.

In the 19th century, the Bazillac family, in financial difficulty despite marriage alliances, gradually sold its land and furniture. At the beginning of the 20th century, General Rivière d'Arc acquired the property, which was reduced to 320 hectares, to set up a horse farm for the cavalry of Tarbes. Today, the castle, still owned by the Rivière d'Arc family, preserves medieval remains such as moats and a scauguette. It has been protected as historical monuments since 1987 for its interiors and since 1988 for its facades and remains.

The architecture of the castle combines a body of rectangular houses, an unfinished curvilinear pediment and defensive elements inherited from the Middle Ages. The interior decorations, characteristic of the second half of the eighteenth century, include enfilades of pieces adorned with stucco and woodwork. Although private property, the castle is exceptionally open during the European Heritage Days. A fire in 2020 damaged some of the addictions, causing the death of a man.

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