France · 7th century
The Château Royal de Collioure (Catalan: Castell Reial de Cotlliure) is a massive French beach fortified royal castle in the town of Collioure, a few kilometers north of the Spanish border in the French département of Pyrénées-Orientales.
The Château is the juxtaposition of at least four castles.
Roussillon was conquered by the Romans around 120 BC and then occupied by the Visigoths from 418. The first mention is about a fortified site in Collioure under siege in 673, by Wamba, king of the Visigoths who lay siege to the "Castellum Caucolibéri" to subdue a rebellion.
In the 12th century, Girard II, the last independent count of the Roussillon, bequeathed his land to Alfons II, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona. Concerned about the prosperity of Collioure, the kings of Aragon granted privileges and tax exemptions. An annual fair was established, and important works were undertaken in the castle, the port and the town. The Knights Templar built the castle around 1207. In 1276 it was integrated into the royal castle.
A second castle was later built by the Kings of Majorca during the 13th and 14th centuries.
In the 13th century, the Castle was annexed to the Kingdom of Majorca, which included the domain of Montpellier, the earldoms of the Roussillon and Cerdanya, the Conflent and Vallespir, and the Balearic Islands. The Kings of Majorca were itinerant. They travelled with their court, moving frequently from Maguelonne, near Montpellier, to Perpignan, to Palma de Majorca or to Collioure.
In the 16th century, after a brief occupation by Louis XI, the Spanish Habsburgs, starting with Charles Quint, again occupied Collioure. He and his son Philip II turned the castle into a modern fortress of the 16th century. It was imperative that the fortifications were adapted in line with the advances in artillery, and so the castle defences and its surroundings were considerably reinforced.
In the 17th century Collioure was at stake in the wars between the Spanish Habsburgs and the French Bourbons. In 1642, Louis XIII's troops lay siege to Collioure and the Château Royal. Ten thousand men including Turenne, d'Artagnan and the King's musketeers occupied the hills overlooking the town, while the French fleet blocked the port. Deprived of water due to the destruction of their wells, the Spanish were forced to surrender.
Text adapted from “Château Royal de Collioure” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Château Royal de Collioure ranks #3,327 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #259 of the 793 mapped in France. Founded 673, it is older than 96% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 39 atlas entries founded in the 7th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 3,288 times in the last 60 days, more than 80% of the atlas. 10 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Perpignan, 25 km away. See how France compares in the castle statistics.
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