Château Trompette en Gironde

Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Trompette Castle, originally named Tropeyte Castle, was a fortress built north of Bordeaux after the Hundred Years' War, on the orders of King Charles VII. Its dual objective was to defend the city against a possible British offensive and to monitor the Bordelais, reluctant to French authority after three centuries of English domination. Its strategic location, turned to both Garonne and the city, reflected this ambition of political and military control.

The construction, completed in 1455 under the direction of John II of Bourbon, was financed by the Bordelais in punishment for their late rallying to the English. The castle soon became a symbol of royal oppression, limiting communal freedoms. His name, deformed of Tropeyte (linked to a local source or to the troupyta gascon, meaning "herds"), was assimilated to Trompette by paronymic attraction.

In 1649, during the Ormée revolt against the royal taxes, the Duke of Epernon ordered the artillery of the castle to bomb the city. Taken by the insurgents, it was partially destroyed, leaving only a bastion. Reconstructed under Mazarin by Pierre de Conty d-Argencour, then enlarged by Louis XIV despite the peace treaties, he became a bastioned citadel (1664–175) designed by the knight of Clerville. Vauban criticized his weaknesses, preferring to devote himself to Blaye's citadel.

In the 18th century, the castle, which had become obsolete, began urban expansion. Despite landscaping by Intendant Tourny (Turny roads, glacis transformed into gardens), his demolition was authorized in 1785. The materials were sold, and the fortress was razed in 1816 to create the place des Quinconces. Today, only buried remains, a model at Les Invalides (Paris), and a Bordeaux street perpetuate his memory.

The excavations of 2006, during the tramway work, revealed remains quickly re-encrusted. The bust of Louis XIV of the royal gate is preserved at the museum of Aquitaine. The castle illustrates the tensions between central power and local autonomy, as well as the urban evolution of Bordeaux, from a fortified medieval town to an open metropolis on the Garonne.

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