Château de Preignes-le-Vieux

En un regard

Le château en bref

Château de Preignes-le-Vieux stands in Vias (Hérault), at the heart of a wine estate. The site is mentioned as early as the 12th century in the cartulary of Agde under the name ecclesia Sancti Petri de Prenias, and remains of a Roman villa were unearthed there in 1965. The present fortress was built between 1202 and 1220 by the viscount Guillaume de Pézenas, beside a chapel dating from the late 12th century, and was remodelled in the 16th century. The main residential block has three storeys above a vaulted ground floor. It is flanked by round towers at the north and north-west corners and by a square tower containing a spiral staircase, around a fortified courtyard. Listed as a monument historique by order of 10 novembre 1995, the château has belonged to the Vic family since 1905. They run it as a wine estate and offer guided tours followed by tastings.