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Origin and history

The castle of Viviers-lès-Montagnes is a fortified building built on a promontory overlooking the plain and the Black Mountain. Its strategic location, with a elevation allowing three levels of cellars and terraces, made it a coveted site from the prehistory. Remnants attest to an ancient occupation, followed by an oppidum, then a Benedictine priory founded in the 9th century by the monks of Castres. The Templars added fortifications before the site suffered the ravages of the Albigeian Crusade under Simon IV of Montfort, then those of the Hundred Years War.

In 1339 King Philip VI authorized the inhabitants to divide the plots and to strengthen the site, erected as a fortress of the Haut-Languedoc with eight towers of ramparts. The castle, located on the border of the dioceses of Lavaur and Castres, was remodeled by various local lords, who added defensive elements (artillery towers) or decorative elements (renaissance windows). After four seats during the Wars of Religion, its structure was profoundly changed, although the vaulted cellars, bearing witness to past defensive needs, remained. Renaissance sculptures, destroyed by Protestants, were rediscovered in the 19th century and now adorn the park.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Toulouse architect Jean-Pierre Laffon transformed the castle into a neo-classical style, expanding the openings and removing the wall of the courtyard to create gardens. The central part of the horse-drawn castle was preserved, while the eastern wing was lowered. The site, inscribed in historical monuments since 1981, thus blends medieval, Renaissance and neo-classical heritages, reflecting its turbulent history between conflicts and architectural embellishments.

The 19th century excavations revealed earlier carved elements, now exposed in the park. The facade retains crenelage and gargoyles to the north, while the southern part has 19th-century dressing. The castle, initially surrounded by a fence wall removed in the 19th century, illustrates the evolution of defensive and aesthetic needs throughout the centuries, from its role as a border fortress to its current residential vocation.

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