En un regard
Le château en bref
Château d'Esclignac, built on the plain at the foot of Monfort (Gers) around the 11th century on the site of a former Gallo-Roman villa, was the ancestral seat of the influential Preissac family, several members of which took part in the Crusades, and which remained dominant until the Revolution. In 1485, Bertrand I de Preissac added elegant mullioned windows and a spiral staircase flanking the round tower; in the 16th century, his successors built the north tower, the drawbridge tower and fortified towers intended for storing wine. A contemporary chapel served as the family vault. After the Revolution, Charles de Preissac, who had married a Saxon noblewoman, was forced into exile; the estate changed hands several times and became a farm under the Lahitte family until around 1939. A restoration was undertaken in 1968 to restore the lustre of this remarkable fortress, respecting its materials and Renaissance style. It remains today a privately owned property.