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Origin and history

The Romanesque houses of Mont-de-Marsan, the capital of the Landes in New Aquitaine, date from the second half of the 12th century. Built shortly after the founding of the city by Viscount Pierre de Marsan (between 1133 and 1141), they illustrate medieval civil defensive architecture. Four of them remain: two Maubec Street (including one listed at the Historic Monuments in 1929) and two Lacataye Street, close to the eponymous dungeon. Their construction of shell stone, typical local materials, and their partial integration with the ramparts underline their role in the defensive system of the city, particularly on the Twelve side.

The house of 6 rue Maubec, registered in 1929, is distinguished by its two parallel walls, 90 cm thick, 2 metres apart, strengthening its military function. Nearby, the house of 24 bis rue Maubec, partially classified in 1984 for its Gothic murals (XIVth–XVth centuries) – diamond, lily flowers, and a frieze of musicians – suggests a noble use before becoming attic (XVIIth) then store (XIXth). Acquired by the municipality in 1981, it preserves traces of its heraldic past, now almost erased.

The other two houses, rue Lacataye, also date from the 12th century. Their location near the Lacataye dungeon – an entire 14th century with observation and refuge functions – reinforces the hypothesis of a defensive district. This dungeon, registered in 1942, derives its name from Spanish castar ("watch"), referring to its strategic role. The arches (covered passages with half-timbers of the XIIIth) and the house of the locker (XVth), equipped with canonary archers, complete this medieval heritage linked to the hydraulic and commercial management of the city.

These buildings reflect the urban evolution of Mont-de-Marsan, from its Vicomtal foundation to its extension to the village of Grande Fontaine (XIIIe). The materials (shellstone) and techniques (corbellations, murders) bear witness to local know-how, while the rare interior decorations – such as the frescoes of 24 bis rue Maubec – reveal a social stratification where nobility and commercial activities coexisted. Their preservation, despite later secular uses, underscores their recognized heritage value as early as the twentieth century.

The successive protections (1929, 1942, 1984) preserved these remains, although some elements (paintings, defensive structures) are now weakened. The lockhouse, registered in 1942, illustrates for example the control of water flows via the Midou and the Twelve, essential for ditches and mills. These fortified houses, halfway between habitat and fortification, thus embody the civil and military duality of the medieval cities of the South-West.

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