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Château de Brassac
France
File:051 Brassac (82190).JPG
Type	Fortress

The château de Brassac is a château-fort located in Brassac, in Tarn-et-Garonne, in the region [ [Occitanie (administrative region)|Occitanie]] (France). Built in the 12th century, it was then a fortress which took part in all the major events that affected the Languedoc until the 18th century.

The Château de Brassac is mentioned in the 12th century as being the seat of a barony, and belonged to the Planels family, vassals of the Duke of Aquitaine . Nevertheless, it is on lands under the jurisdiction of the Count of Toulouse, and it is perhaps to remove these lords who are not vassals to him, that the Count Raymond V of Toulouse purchases the building in 1190, from Raymond de Planels. It is at the time only a simple dungeon protected by a ditch, he entrusts to Durand Mercader, one of his captains road. The English King Henry II controls a large part of the Southwest, and Raymond V is forced to pay homage to him for the fortress, which will even be occupied for a time by Richard Coeur de Lion. However, his son, Raymond VI, rejected English tutelage after the French successes against the English in Aquitaine.

After the events of the Albigensian Crusade, the seigneury of Brassac was attached to the Bishop of Cahors, then to the new Count of Toulouse Alphonse de Poitiers. When the latter died without an heir, the lords of Brassac had to pay homage to the king of France. Nevertheless, Bertrand de Galard, head of the Galard family and owner of the premises, pays homage to the King of England Henri III then Edouard I, in 1266 and 1291. In the 13th century the castle is fortified, with the construction of a well, a perimeter wall encircling the hill, as well as a wooden palisade reinforcing the wall.

During the Hundred Years War, Galard de Brassac first joined the English, before joining the French camp. The castle will then be taken by the English in 1346, then in 1356, during the ride of Languedoc with a raid led by the famous captain John Chandos.^{[citation needed]}

In 1508, the Galard de Brassac family, still in possession of the castle, took the surname of Galard de Béarn de Brassac, on the occasion of the marriage of François de Galard de Brassac and Jeanne de Béarn. During the same 16th century, soldiers Huguenots took the building during the Wars of Religion, while Jean III de Galard was in charge of defending Lauzerte. In 1609, the lords of Brassac become counts, with the erection of the lordship into a county by Henri IV.

During the French Revolution, the Galard family was stripped of their rights, and the castle burned down. The family nevertheless manages to buy it back and restore it a few years later. In 1891, after a financial rout of the owners, they sold it to the Chabrié family, who saved the building from ruin. In 1997, Madame de La Baume offered the building to Gilles de Galard de Béarn de Brassac, a direct descendant of the former owners. It is now open for visits^[1].

The Château de Brassac is listed as a historic monument by decree of December 9, 1926, then classified by decree of October 9, 1979^[2].

The Château de Brassac is made up of a large quadrilateral with sides of 40 metres, flanked by four circular towers. This part, dating from the 12th to 13th centuries, was razed during the Revolution, leaving only the shape of the old building on the ground, and the foundations. These house three guard rooms vaulted, with access by galleries and stairs. Despite the leveling of the towers and the curtain walls, there remain walls 2 to 3 meters thick, about ten meters high, as well as a set of meurtrières and [[Gunboat|gunboats] ]. Nevertheless, above these foundations, the main building dating from the beginning of the 14th century and built above the site of the dungeon of the 12th century, was preserved during the Revolution, despite the fact that it was burned down. It also includes many 15th century additions such as various windows, as well as a polygonal tower retaining a spiral staircase.

Access to the castle is via a stone bridge, which replaced an ancient drawbridge allowing passage over the dry moats, a large part of which is now filled in. Near the castle, there is the motte castrale of a first castle, as well as vestiges of fortifications^[3].

• File:Brassac 82 - The castle 1 - photo Mabel Joanneton.jpg

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Château de Brassac (Tarn-et-Garonne).

• List of castles in Tarn-et-Garonne
• List of historic monuments in Tarn-et-Garonne