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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Château des Comtes du Roure, located in Barjac in the Gard, is a composite monument built mainly in the seventeenth century, although its origins date back to the tenth century. It consists of three distinct parts: a 10th century seigneurial tower, a 12th century medieval dungeon (the Castel Viel), and a Renaissance house erected between 1634 and 1639 by Jacques de Grimoard de Beauvoir du Roure and his son. This last building, of square plan and distributed over four levels, housed spaces dedicated to the family, to the servants, and even a chapel, with an architecture marked by large sill windows.

The seigneurial tower, built on a rock at the place called Bargacum, was raised in 1649 to accommodate the communal bell, still visible. The Castel Viel, initially a strong three-storey house, later served as a prison and symbolized the domination of the Beauvoir du Roure family over the region. Around this castle, the village of Barjac developed as a strategic village on the road linking the mountains of Ardèche to the Rhône valley and Aigues-Mortes. The ramparts surrounding the city, of which remains remains such as the lower gate, bear witness to this medieval importance.

In the 17th century, the new home was connected to the existing buildings by stables and a vaulted gallery surmounted by hanging gardens (frozen in the 20th century). This castle remained owned by the Roure family until 1899, before becoming a Catholic school run by the bishopric of Nîmes until 2001. Since then, the town hall of Barjac has made it a cultural hub: the town hall has been located there since 2008, and the old stables, kitchens and galleries now house a library, a cinema and a festive hall. The old dungeon, restored externally, was not rehabilitated inside.

The castle has been listed as historical monuments since 1993. Today, his court hosts summer festivals such as Song of Word and Barjac M The interior spaces, such as the salons where the Cardinal de Richelieu stayed or the family chapel, recall his past prestige, while the missing hanging gardens evoke his architectural evolution.

The sources also mention further developments, such as the vaults built in 1777 to house the family archives, or the transformation of the wing into a vaulted gallery, once equipped with a theatre and a chapel. Despite these modifications, the castle retains original elements, such as French ceilings and 17th-century chimneys, which bear witness to its aristocratic history.

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