Château de Durban-Corbières
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- Not to be confused with Château de Durban in Beaumes-de-Venise, Vaucluse.
The Château de Durban-Corbières is a ruined castle in the village of Durban-Corbières in the Aude département of southwestern France.
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[edit] History
The castle was built in the 11th century for the lords of Durban. In the 12th century the powerful Durban family owned Leucate and Fabrezan as well as lands and rights over Fontjoncouse and Villesèque. The castle was the property of Bernard de Durban in the 12th century. In 1229, Guillaume de Durban swore allegiance to the king of France and thus kept his lands, despite his ancestors earlier links with the Cathars. The last member of the Durbans to own the castle was Joseph de Gléon, Baron of Durban, who died without heirs in 1787. The castle was sold in 1873 and became a stone quarry until the end of the 19th century. The only remains today are the north face of the main building, a round staircase tower and a square tower.
[edit] The castle today
Today, the castle belongs to the commune and is cared for by the Comité de Sauvegarde du Vieux Durban (Committee for the Safeguarding of Old Durban). It has been listed since 1926 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
