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Origin and history

The Basoues dungeon, located in Gers in the Occitanie region, is an emblematic 14th century monument. Built around 1370 under the impulse of Arnaud Aubert, nephew of Pope Innocent VI and archbishop of Auch, it peaks at 43 meters high. His construction accounts, kept at the Vatican Archives, reveal the names of the masterpieces: the stone tailor Pierre Joc and the carpenter Étienne de Pradères. This massive dungeon, with buttresses and mâchicoulis, symbolizes the power of the archbishops of Auch.

The dungeon is part of a wider castral complex, including a castle whose remains date back to the 16th and 17th centuries. Arnaud Aubert had ordered that the old castle be included in the new constructions, but his successors, like Archbishop Henri de La Mothe-Houdancourt (1666-1684), modified the building. The latter added a building body between two towers, tempering the austere appearance of the dungeon. The site, classified as a historical monument in 1840, bears witness to the turbulent history of Gascogne, between religious conflicts and episcopal power.

Bassoues, founded in the 11th century as a castrum before becoming a bastide in the 13th century, owes its growth to the legend of Saint Fris, nephew of Charles Martel. According to tradition, the latter, after defeating the Saracens near the village, died there by a poisoned arrow. Its relics, rediscovered in the 10th century, attracted pilgrims on the Via Tolosane towards Santiago de Compostela. The Basilica of Saint-Fris, built in his honour, and the neighboring dungeon illustrate this military and spiritual past.

The village, surrounded by walls in the 14th century, also preserves a medieval hall and a Gothic church, reflecting its golden age. The archives mention customs granted to the inhabitants in 1295 by an archbishop, emphasizing his economic and strategic role. Today, the dungeon, with its five levels and defensive architecture, remains the symbol of a time when Bassoues was a crossroads between religious power, trade and pilgrimage.

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