Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Faugères Gate of Pézenas is one of the few remains of the medieval fortifications of the city, whose construction and maintenance are attested by the end of the thirteenth century. It consists of two adjacent arches, one in the middle of the hanger and the other low, marking the junction between the old town and a later enclosure. Traces of a closing system, perhaps a harrow, remain at their intersection. The lower part, on the old town side, has a regular apparatus probably dating back to the 16th century, while stalls indicate the location of old square towers today disappeared.

The Peyrat Tower, associated with these fortifications, is a 14th century square building, characterized by crows supporting ancient mâchicoulis. It initially defended the Saint Christol Gate and was the only tower to have survived among those that strengthened the medieval courtine. The archives mention that in 1350, Hugues de Arsis, Master of Waters and Forests, ordered the reconstruction of the walls, marking the beginning of a continuous maintenance of the fortifications until the 16th century. Most of the defensive elements were demolished in 1597 to give way to a modern enclosure, saving only the Faugères Gate and the Peyrat Tower.

Originally, five gates pierced the walls of Pézenas: Saint John, Saint Christol, Faugères, Béziers and Saint-Blaise. The gates of Béziers and Saint-Blaise disappeared in the seventeenth century, that of Saint-Jean was shot down in 1886, and the Saint-Christol gate, still maintained in 1707, has now disappeared. The Faugères Gate, for its part, remains as a witness to the urban transformations and defensive concerns of the city, from medieval wars to modern times. Its inscription in the Historic Monuments in 1931 underscores its heritage importance.

External links