The Château de Mayragues (12th - 17th century) and its pigeon loft built on 4 columns, both listed as Historic Buildings, surrounded by its bio-dynamic vineyard, sit proudly in the midst of the magnificent rolling countryside of the Bastides Albigeoises.
The Château de Mayragues is one of the few remaining examples of the regional fortified architecture with a half-timbered, overhanging gallery surrounding the top of the château built of the light-coloured local limestone. The splendid pigeon loft sitting on 4 stone columns, typical of the Languedoc region, the formal box parterre, the vineyard (cultivated in bio-dynamics since 1999), the surrounding woods and fields of sunflowers and corn, make an ideal setting for the summer concerts which have been performed in front of the château for the last 20 years.The château and the pigeon loft have undergone an extensive 35 year restoration programme using traditional meterials of stone, wood, lime and sand, and in 1998, during the course of the restoration, were awarded the Grand Prix of the Vieilles Maisons Françaises.The half-timbered gallery provides a unique setting for the guest B&B bedrooms and an extensive view over the garden and the surrounding countryside. Visiting the winery, tasting the bio-dynamic wines of the domain, or simply relaxing in the garden are the ideal complement to discovering the treasures of the Bastides Albigeoises.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.