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Origin and history

The Château du Rieutort is a 17th-century cartreuse built in Roquelaure, Gascony, by Marshal Antoine de Roquelaure. The latter, wishing a home less austere than the old feudal local castle, began in 1620 the construction of large stables for his horses. He died in 1625 before completing his project, leaving to his son, Gaston-Jean-Baptiste de Roquelaure, the task of finishing the buildings and gardens between 1642 and 1650, when Roquelaure became duche-pairie. The castle, conceived as a perigordine "master house" on the ground floor, breaks with local fortified traditions.

Gaston-Jean-Baptiste, heir to a vast estate including counties, baronnia and fiefs gascons, died in 1683. His possessions passed in 1708 at Rohan's house through the marriage of his granddaughter, Françoise de Roquelaure, with the Duke of Rohan-Chabot. In 1757, the Rohans gave up the castle to the Marquis de Mirabeau, who sold it to King Louis XV in 1761 to install a stud. After the latter was abolished in 1772, the estate was acquired by Guillaume Dubarry, then exchanged with the advisor Reversat de Marsac, guillotine in 1794.

The architecture of the Rieutort, inspired by the cartreuses and the Lombardy castin, is distinguished by its quadrangular plan around a square courtyard, its commons, stables and pieces of water designed by the fontainier Jacques Reilhes. The castle, partially listed as a Historical Monument in 1967 for its facades and roofs, remains a private property in the heart of a farm. Its exterior opens exceptionally during Heritage Days.

The origins of the project could also involve architect Pierre Levesville, active in Lavardens in 1620, whose signature appears on a contract linked to the Rieutort. After the Revolution, the estate passed into the hands of the Gèze families (1860), Duffaut (1870), then Montal since the end of the 19th century. The castle thus embodies the evolution of Gasconian seigneurial residences, from the 17th century to the contemporary era.

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