The Château de Nérac is a castle in the Lot-et-Garonne département in southwest France. An edifice of the French Renaissance style, it was finished during the reign of Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, daughter of Marguerite d'Angoulème who was also Marguerite de Navarre by her marriage to Henry II of Navarre.
A stately home belonging to Arsieu of Albian is mentioned in 1088 but the first mention of a castle on the site is that belonging to Amanieu VI of Albret (Labrit) in 1259. The castle was rebuilt between the 15th and 16th centuries by the House of Albret. The House of Albret became linked to the Kingdom of Navarre after his marriage to Queen Catherine of Navarre (Lescar, 1486) and his crowning jure uxoris as King Jean III of Navarre. The castle was the location of a vibrant court during the life of Jeanne d'Albret, Queen Jeanne III of Navarre, and the youth of Henry III of Navarre, the future Henry IV of France. In 1560, Queen Jeanne III and her court converted to reformed religion after the meeting of Theodore de Bèze, and they welcomed a number of artists, such as Clément Marot.
After the coronation of Henry III of Navarre as King Henry IV of France, the castle was deserted. It was partially destroyed in 1651 by Henry of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, after the town revolted against king Louis XIII of France and then dismantled during the French Revolution, excepting the northern part, which is now a museum.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.