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Château des Covet à Marignane dans les Bouches-du-Rhône

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château
Bouches-du-Rhône

Château des Covet

    Cours Mirabeau
    13700 Marignane
Ownership of the municipality
Château des Covet
Château des Covet
Crédit photo : Beris - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
vers 1353
Initial construction
21 février 1603
Acquisition by Covet
milieu XVIe siècle
Partial restoration
1664
Extension by Jean Daret
1696
Finishing the scenery
1892
Become a city hall
5 juillet 1996
Historical Monument
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Former castle (cases AN 229 to 231, 516, 518 to 520): classification by decree of 5 July 1996

Key figures

Guillaume des Baux - Lord and builder Initiate the castle around 1353.
Jean-Baptiste Covet - Marquis and patrons Purchased and enlarged the castle in 1603.
Jean Daret - Architect Designed extensions and decorations in 1664.
Jean-Louis Michel - Craft decorator Realize the gypseries of the chimneys.
Laurent Vallon - Master mason Run Daret's plans.

Origin and history

The present castle of Marignane, today city hall, finds its origins in the fourteenth century with a first construction initiated around 1353 by Guillaume des Baux. This medieval castle was partially restored in the 16th century, before undergoing major transformations under the impetus of its new owners.

In 1603 Jean-Baptiste Covet acquired the Marquisat de Marignane and completed the reconstruction of the castle. The site then becomes a vast quadrilateral surrounding a court of honor, with two wings added to close three sides. Work continued in 1664 under the direction of architect Jean Daret, who designed a new building in the east and south, while interior decoration — paintings and gypseries of chimneys — was entrusted to his workshop and Jean-Louis Michel, completed in 1696.

The castle changed hands in the 19th century: sold in 1817, it was bought by the municipality in 1892 to become the city hall. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1996, it preserves architectural elements of the 14th, 16th and 17th centuries, testifying to its evolution throughout the epochs. Its column portal, added in the eighteenth century, and its baroque interior decorations make it a remarkable example of Provencal heritage.

It should be noted that Marignane once had a second castle, located in Papia, now extinct. The present castle, with its classical additions and medieval foundations, illustrates the transition between seigneurial fortress and aristocratic residence, before serving the communal administration.

External links