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Origin and history

The castle of Garrevaques came into being in the 15th century, when it was erected around 1470 as a defensive fortress to protect the village. Equipped with four towers, moat fed by the Sor and a speaker, it then embodies a typical military architecture of the time. This first building, owned by a Catholic lord, plays a strategic role in the wars of Religion in the 16th century.

In 1580, the castle was stormed by Protestant troops of Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne, after three days of siege. A breach in the ramparts allows it to fall, followed by a massacre of defenders. It then became a Huguenot stronghold in Lauragais, welcoming even Henri de Navarre (future Henri IV). The family of Gineste, Protestant, who inherited it at the beginning of the 17th century and still preserves it today, was the result of conflict.

During the French Revolution, the castle was burned by revolutionaries, leaving only a few remains like a door and a tower. At the beginning of the 19th century, during the First Empire, Count Philippe de Gineste and his son Henri, enriched by the sugar beet trade, rebuilt him in a neoclassical style. In 1815, on the occasion of a wedding, they acquired twelve panoramic paintings from the Dufour and Leroy manufacture, representing Les Amours de Psyche and Cupid, now protected as historical monuments.

During World War II, the castle was requisitioned by the Germans in 1943. Turned into a staff, he suffered degradation, with his kitchen serving as armory. When they left in August 1944, the occupants placed explosives in the basements, demourced in extremis by gardener Jules Gasc, a veteran. The owners, assisted by the villagers, had previously saved valuable furniture.

Today, the castle remains a private residence inhabited by the 16th, 17th and 18th generations of the Gineste family. It has been partially listed as a historic monument since 2016 for its Dufour painting fair. The estate, reforested in 1878, also houses a remarkable 550-year-old oak and outbuildings converted into hotel-restaurant. Cultural and private events are organized by My French Way of Life.

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