Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Aval Gate, also known as the Avail Gate, is a stone building located on Rue Monseigneur de Cambon in Mirepoix, in the Ariège department. It is one of four fortified gates built after the fire of the city by the Routiers in 1362. These ramparts, erected in 1372, adopted a bastide-inspired route, with three main gates. The only surviving door of Aval opens on the western front of the enclosure, where the houses replaced the walls without exceeding them.

The door was equipped with a harrow and vantals, with arches to defend the courtine. An adjacent tower, called "open to the gorge", served as a watchtower and belonged to Charles de Montfaucon, lord of Rogles in the 16th century. The coat of arms of Mirepoix, designed in 1817 by astronomer Jean-Joseph Vidal, adorns the entrance. Ranked a historic monument in 1930, the door escaped a planned destruction in 1832.

Today, the Aval Gate remains an architectural testimony to the reconstruction of Mirepoix after the ravages of the Big Companies. Its structure, preserved despite centuries, illustrates medieval defensive techniques. The nearby tower, although privately owned, recalls the strategic role of this access point in the urban history of the Ariegian city.

External links