Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Manlèche Castle, located in Pergain-Taillac in Gers, is a polygonal complex of buildings built gradually from an ancient castral site. The original building, dating from the 13th or 14th century, remains partially visible in the current structure. This monument illustrates an overlay of eras, with medieval elements integrated into a more recent architecture, reflecting the defensive and residential evolutions of the region.

In the 16th century, the castle is enriched with an arcade gallery and a hexagonal tower with suspended screw staircase, characteristic of the first Renaissance in Gascony. These additions marked a stylistic transition to more adorned and functional forms, while maintaining a spatial organization centered on a triangular courtyard, atypical for the time. The north wing, later destroyed, and the renovations of the coronations in the 20th century testify to the successive adaptations of the monument.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 2006, Manlèche Castle includes, in addition to its main buildings, ditches, an access bridge, a dovecote, as well as the remains of a mill and a pool converted into a pool. These elements, protected for their heritage value, underline the historic importance of the site, both as a medieval fortress and as a Renaissance seigneurial residence. The property, now owned by a private company, retains tangible traces of its military and aristocratic past.

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