The Château de Ferrières is located in the town of Fontrieu, in the Tarn department, 20 km northeast of Castres.
A first fortified building is mentioned from the 13th century due to the Taillefer family which dominates the local seigniory.
Some vaults of this first construction would have remained. But it was in the 16th century that the complex was remodeled, enlarged and fortified by Guillaume de Guilhot, a Protestant leader who amassed substantial booty during the Wars of Religion.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the castle was bought and became a state prison: convicts were then detained there without trial, according to the letters of cachet... During the Revolution, the towers of the fortress were dismantled but the housing is preserved. Nowadays, the residential buildings have retained their Renaissance style, and there are sculptures and mullioned windows framed by small columns on the facade.
Protected as historical monuments, the building also houses fireplaces and a staircase noted for their sculpted decoration.
Overlooking the Agout gorges, next to a contemporary building housing a museum of Protestantism, the castle with its rich interior, featuring a courtyard and a garden, is the subject of a vast restoration project which will be accompanied by the creation on the site of an interpretation center of the French Renaissance, a period whose architecture and art are teeming with testimonies in Ferrières…
The castle is not currently open to visitors due to the works but can be observed during a walk in this town of character with a rich heritage. Information on +33 5 63 74 00 61.
