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Royal Castle of Collioure dans les Pyrénées-Orientales

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château fort
Pyrénées-Orientales

Royal Castle of Collioure

    2 Quai de l'Amirauté
    66190 Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Château Royal de Collioure
Crédit photo : Marek Ślusarczyk (Tupungato) Photo gallery - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Haut Moyen Âge
Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
700
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
673
Taken by Wisigoths
1207
First written entry
1280
Expansion of fortifications
1344
Taken by Peter IV of Aragon
1642
French Headquarters
1690
Works by Vauban
14 novembre 1922
Historical monument classification
1939
Disciplinary camp
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Castle with its defences, escarps and counterscarps: classification by decree of 14 November 1922

Key figures

Jacques Ier d'Aragon - King of Aragon (1213–1276) Created the kingdom of Majorca in 1262.
Jacques II de Majorque - King of Majorca (1276–1311) Reinforced the defenses in 1280.
Pierre IV d'Aragon - King of Aragon (1336–1387) Prit Collioure in 1344.
Vauban - Military engineer (1633–1707) Modernized the citadel (17th century).
Benoît XIII - Pope (1394–1423) Residence at the castle in 1408 and 1415.
Louis XIII - King of France (1610–1643) Prit Collioure in 1642.

Origin and history

The Royal Castle of Collioure, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales, finds its origins on a site occupied since Antiquity by Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Wisigoths and Omayyades. In the 7th century, a fortified village was built there, replaced in the 13th century by a medieval castle first mentioned in 1207. The latter, built on the earlier remains, became a royal residence for the Counts of Roussillon and then the kings of Majorca, which grew between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The city, then named Caucoliberis, is a strategic port for the Mediterranean trade, linked to Elne (Illiberis).

In the 13th century, the castle was integrated into the kingdom of Majorca after the inheritance of James I of Aragon. The kings of Majorca, threatened by Aragon, reinforced his defenses: James II destroyed houses in 1280 to expand fortifications. In 1344, Peter IV of Aragon seized Collioure with the support of Philip VI of France, putting an end to the kingdom of Majorca. The castle, transformed into a fortress, saw its medieval walls strengthened in the 15th to 16th centuries under the Habsburgs of Spain, with works led by Francisco Ramiro López and Joan Botista Palia.

The citadel passed under French control in 1642 after a siege leading to the Spanish surrender. In the 17th century, Vauban and the engineer Saint-Hilaire modernized the defences: elevation of the ramparts, creation of bastions and half a moon (1690), at the cost of the destruction of 130 houses and the medieval church. The castle, classified as a historic monument in 1922, served as a prison during the Retirada (1939) and under the German occupation (1942–1945). Archaeological excavations in 2012 revealed ancient and medieval remains.

Today owned by the Conseil départemental des Pyrénées-Orientales, the castle welcomes the public and cultural events. Its architecture superimposed seven centuries of modifications, from the Visigothic foundations to the Vauban buildings, illustrating its evolution from a royal residence to a strategic military citadel. The site still dominates the port of Collioure, symbol of its maritime past and conflict between Mediterranean kingdoms.

The castle is also linked to historical figures such as Pope Benedict XIII, who resided there in 1408 and 1415, or Alphonse V of Aragon, who built a barbacan in 1454. Its role in the Franco-Spanish conflicts, particularly during the crusade d'Aragon (1284) or the Thirty Years' War, makes it a key witness to geopolitical tensions in Roussillon. The archaeological remains discovered (movable objects, structures) enrich the understanding of its continuing occupation since ancient times.

External links