Since 2000, David Liagre, the owner, has been working hard with volunteers to restore the Château de Gardères.
Listed in the supplementary inventory of historical monuments, the Château de Gardères is located in the heart of this village in the Hautes-Pyrénées, within an enclave: a small territory administratively attached to the Hautes-Pyrénées although geographically located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
It is necessary to go back several centuries to understand this geographical and historical peculiarity: two Bigourdan territories surrounded by Béarn lands...
We already find traces of the castle from the 15th century. It was rebuilt on an 18th century plan giving it its current aspect.
A little history...
In the 15th century the lordship of the villages of Gardères, Luquet, Seron and Aast belonged to the house of Coarraze. Catherine de Coarraze bequeathed this seigneury to her son Gaston de Foix-Carmaing who sold it in 1504 to Bernard II de Coarraze.
The seigneury then passed by inheritance to the Castelnau-Laloubêre family and was sold in 1603 to Antoine d'Incamps, lord of Abêre in Vic-Bilh.
In 1674, Jérôme de Day, wool merchant, then treasurer general of the finances of the crown of Navarre, acquired Gardères and its seigneury from Louis d'Incamps, marquis of Louvie.
After the revolution, during which the de Day family emigrated to Spain, it returned to Gardères and the castle passed by marriage to the Cazaubon-Lavedan family, then to Marie d'Olce de La lande de Vic en Bigorre on February 10, 1846. This one sold the Castle with the biddings to the Baqué family for the sum of five thousand forty francs in July
The years passed and the Castle ended up being abandoned, forgotten, plundered and even squatted, according to the bad weather, like the storm of 1999 which will bring a hard blow to the castle.
Forgotten, abandoned, and even looted for more than 10 years, the Château de Gardères is now experiencing a "renaissance" thanks to its new owner David Alexandre Liagre and is gradually regaining its former authenticity.
A 4th phase of work including the repair of the walls, the enclosure and the bailey of the castle has been undertaken with the help of his friends and donors grouped within the Association "Gardères 1723".
Unusual detail: surprised by the night, Philippe V, king of Spain, would have stopped there on May 29, 1706 with his suite.
Association Gardères 1723
1, Place du Château,
65320 Garderes
Tel : 06 70 27 68 81
https://www.chateaudegarderes.com/
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