The central part of the Schallaburg Castle was built in the German Renaissance Age, beginning around 1540, by the Losenstein dynasty. The castle is combination of a Romanesque residential castle and a Gothic chapel, patterned in the Italian Renaissance style. Aesthetically built, it has a well-decorated two-storied arcaded court with elegant cantilevered staircases and a courtyard. The decorations are in terracotta mosaic depicting mythological figures, gods, masks and human beings and animals; a legendary mythical figurine here is known as Hundefräulein (a female human figure with a dog’s head).
At the gate entrance to the castle, there are two large 'smoke-spewing dragons', each 30 metres long and 6 metres high, which is a favourite entertainment spot for the children to slide down its mouth from the top. Its culturally rich Mannerist gardens have roses, ornamental trees and bushes and herbs planted in the gardens in the town, and two Renaissance apple orchards.
References:The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.
In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.