Château de Bruniquel

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The Château de Bruniquel is a castle in the French commune of Bruniquel, in the Tarn-et-Garonne département of France. Legend has it that the Merovingian queen Brunehaut founded the castle in the 6th century.

1 Name
2 Architecture
3 Trivia
4 See also
5 External links
6 Sources

[edit] Name

The castle is often called Châteaux de Bruniquel (i.e. castles, plural). This is because, two centuries after its construction, the castle was shared between two branches of the Comminges house, hence "château vieux" (old castle) and "château jeune" (yellow castle).

[edit] Architecture

The "château vieux" still has its keep from the 12th century, an era when the castle was the property of the Counts of Toulouse, and its residence from the 13th century. It also has a Renaissance gallery; other parts have undergone extensive remodelling in the 18th and 19th centuries. The keep is named after Brunehaut (la tour de la Reine Brunehaut).

The "château jeune" dominates the valley of the Aveyron from a height of 80m (~260 ft). It was built between 1485 and 1510 and was remodelled during the baroque period. It Renaissance gallery has six arcades.

The whole site has been classified as a historic monument (monument historique) since 1840 and has recently been restored.

[edit] Trivia

The site was a location for the 1975 film Le Vieux Fusil, directed by Robert Enrico and starring Romy Schneider and Philippe Noiret. The well now seen in the centre is not original; it was placed there for the film.