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Little histories about Monbazillac castle

The castle | MOSSOT / CC-BY-SA
Museum Castle Wars of Religion Wedding Vineyard Monbazillac castle

Wine for Dutchmen!

Monbazillac? A syrupy white wine which is produced in Bergerac area since the Middle Ages. Dutchmen at that time were fond of it, in the 17th c., until the beginning of the 19th c.!

Dutchmen? When all the numerous protestants of the area ran away from France after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, moving in Holland, they brought with them bottles of monbazillac, by sea from Libourne… Dutchmen tasted it, loved it, and popularized it throughout Europe!

Fast wedding!

We found several Protestant people, in Monbazillac! During wars of Religion, the castle fell successively to two Huguenot lords: Louis de Bouchard d’Aubeterre in 1607, then Pierre Barraud in 1666.

We still can see in the castle the real abjuration act belonging to Marie de Barraud, viscountess of Monbazillac and Pierre’s widow. Not an easy thing, to be a Protestant in the 16th century: just before her abjuration, Marie married a Catholic lord, Elzéar de Luxe...

Wine and popular arts

So? What does our castle look like? We find here a castle since Gallo-Roman time, then a wooden fortress and a castle in the 16th century. Charles d'Aydie put up the current building in 1550, flanked by round towers on each of the corners…

A nice mix between a medieval fortress and a Renaissance dwelling!

Here you can visit a museum dedicated to wine, popular arts and to Protestantism: the exhibition takes place in nice furnished rooms.

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!