Château de Florac

Florac, France

The Château de Florac was originally built in the 13th century and then rebuilt in the 17th century. It originally belonged to the Barony of Anduze and passed through a number of feudal families. The castle was entirely rebuilt in 1652 after the Wars of Religion. During the French Revolution, the castle was turned into a 'salt loft' for storing salt. It was then used as a prison in the 19th century.

Since 1976, the castle has been the headquarters of the Cévennes National Park, who restored it. The ground and first floors house an exhibition on the National Park (landscape, flora, fauna and activities connected with the park). The information centre has details of hiking, guided tours, accommodation and écomusées (open-air museums) in the park.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Place du Palais 6B, Florac, France

See all sites in Florac

Details

Founded: 13th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Late Capetians (France)

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Château de Miral (5,2 km)

La Couvertoirade Village (50,7 km)
Fort Vauban in Alès (44,2 km)
Sainte-Enimie Village (15,3 km)
Mende Cathedral (22,9 km)
Alès Cathedral (44,4 km)
Château de Portes (35,1 km)
Château de Saint-Alban (53,5 km)
Château de Castelbouc (10,4 km)
Château de Peyrelade (38,2 km)

User Reviews

Tom Van Cauwenbergh (16 months ago)
Very beautiful area for hiking with many available facilities to spend the night.

Charles Curpen (18 months ago)
Great place for long walk , and see the wildlife,

Kim McNeill (2 years ago)
Stunning

assala j. (2 years ago)
A nice forest to be in ... Mainly we saw nuts trees and we had a small festival for the area. Don't forget the "insect repellent" spray ..but it is a nice place for a short walk or for hiking as well.

Aukje van der Veen (3 years ago)
Beautiful nature, wonderful little pathways throughout the environment. Absolutely gorgeous! Also a wide variety of rocks ?

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright gwpics

Historic Site of the week

Abbey of Saint-Georges

Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey. It was founded in about 1113 by Guillaume de Tancarville on the site of an earlier establishment of secular canons and settled by monks from the Abbey of Saint-Evroul. The abbey church made of Caumont stone was erected from 1113 to 1140. The Norman builders aimed to have very well-lit naves and they did this by means of tall, large windows, initially made possible by a wooden ceiling, which prevented uplift, although this was replaced by a Gothic vault in the 13th century. The chapter room was built after the abbey church and dates from the last quarter of the 12th century.

The arrival of the Maurist monks in 1659, after the disasters of the Wars of Religion, helped to get the abbey back on a firmer spiritual, architectural and economic footing. They erected a large monastic building one wing of which fitted tightly around the chapter house (which was otherwise left as it was).