The Château de Portes is a castle located in the commune of Portes in the Gard département of France. It overlooks the Regordane, an ancient avenue used by the pilgrims of Saint-Giles and the Croisés on their way towards the Holy Land for a distance of ten miles. The Anduze, Randon and Polignac families paid homage to the abbot of Saint-Pierre-de-Sauve for this castle between the 11th and the 14th centuries. The castle is listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
History
Raymond Guillaume de Budos, the nephew of Pope Clement V, bought the seigniory in 1322, and added at least two additional flanks to the castle in 1384. Thibaud de Budos recovered the castle after deposing his father André, who had joined with the English at the beginning of the Hundred Years' War.
The seigniory became increasingly rich and powerful until Louis XII set it up as a marquisat in favour of Antoine Hercules de Budos, to whom is undoubtedly owed the form of the present castle. His father was a bishop of Agde, one of his sisters a duchess of Montmorency, and another the abbess of "l'Abbaye des Dames" (The Abbey of Dames) in Caen. The Maréchal-de-Camp was killed in the siege of Privas in 1629. His daughter, Marie-Félice, left the castle as an heirloom to her nephew, Prince de Conti, in 1693, whose descendants sold it to Louis XVI in 1781.
With the French Revolution, the castle was nationalised and sold to six successive owners. In 1841, in the hands of the Vernede family, the monument was restored from its decrepit condition.
In 1929, following the intensive exploitation of the coal mines under the site, the ground broke down ruining the castle and forcing its evacuation. The village was rebuilt about 300 metres further. Circa 1960, the grounds were stabilised and in 1972 an association was formed to recover the castle. It has been classified as a historical monument since 1984.
Architecture
The castle has a singular architectural style among castles in Europe because of its 49 degree spurs in the shape of a ship's bow, which earned the castle its nickname of a vessel in the Cévennes (French: un vaisseau en Cévennes).

Château de Portes

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Château de Chambonas is in the town of Chambonas in the Ardèche department.The castle order and defends the passage of Chassezac flowing below and is spanned by an old Roman bridge in view of the terraces of the park. From the eleventh century, there arose a tower that was incorporated in later constructions. This would be the north tower, rebuilt to the current building. The land was originally an ecclesiastical fiefdom. Its owner, the bishop of Uzes, donated to the abbot of Saint-Gilles that called for monitoring of the ford (later replaced by the bridge) a knight of La Garde-Guérin. This became the first Lord of Chambonas. The estate remained in the family until 1808. The castle is a fortress from the fifteenth century, several times enlarged and modified, for example during the religious wars of the sixteenth century (especially fratricidal Vivarais): Chambonas then received additional towers and battlements intended to make a stronghold and give him no doubt its current appearance. Afterwards were built terraces and gardens including drawing, according to tradition, is due to Le Nôtre. Sources were captured at half a league from there to feed the fountains. Then the interior design was the subject of extensive work in the course of the eighteenth century. The Marquis de Chanaleilles, by act of 13 February 1808 bought the castle of Aloph, Charles de La Garde Chambonas, son of the last foreign minister of Louis XVI, Scipio, Charles Victor, Auguste de La Garde, third Marquis of Chambonas. The latter was ruined (including game), had incurred huge debts and his son had no choice but to sell the castle and its lands to resolve the situation of his father. In the nineteenth century, Chanaleilles, restored forty years the castle that served as garrison to an infantry company between 1792 and the date on which they had acquired. Without distorting its strong home side, a wing was added, built with materials identical to those of the main body; a gatehouse was added above the door, which the bosses reminiscent of the beautiful gate of the castle of Aubenas. The estate remained in the offspring of Chanaleilles until about 1970. It was then sold and resold after new interiors and restoration of lawns.
http://www.frenchchateau.net/chateaux-of-rhone-alpes/chateau-de-chambonas.html

Château de Chambonas

The Château d'Allègre is a ruined castle in the commune of Allègre in the Haute-Loire département of France.
The ruins consist of two corner towers of the former keep, joined by a section of machicolation and round walk, and the base of a tower in the enceinte.
The castle was the seat of the second barony of Auvergne. It was constructed towards the end of the 14th century with three fortified enceintes. It was built by Morinot de Tourzel, a favourite of the Duc de Berry, using plans drawn up by the architect Hugues Aubriot, architect of the Bastille.
The castle underwent several sieges during the Hundred Years' War and, in 1593, the war against the Catholic League. It was burned down on 15 November 1698.
The castle has been the property of the commune since the French Revolution and has been used as a source of building material. It has been protected since 1935 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

Château d'Allègre

The castle of Castanet is a French castle built in the 16th century in Pourcharesse near Villefort in Lozère, France.
Overview
The territory of Castanet has its origin of its name (chestnut) in the Occitan language, as Chestnut Trees are the most common tree in the territory. The castle is next to the lake of Villefort, an artificial lake created behind the Villefort's dam, who went bankrupt destroy the castle.
History
The castle was built in 1578 by Jacques Isarn, a noble of Villefort.
This family continued to grow in importance until marriage to a descendant with Marie-Suzanne de Varicourt "Marquise de Villefort", nourish and savior of the future King of France Louis XV. This évent led the family to move to Versailles.
It was sold in 1760 and after the emigration of the last owner, it will be sold as a national asset during the French Revolution.
After that, the castle belonged to farmers.
In 1962, the national company "Electricité de France" decided to build a dam in the valley. So it expropriated the last owners and planned to destroy the castle but the villagers revolted and entered the castle to make an Inventory of Historicals Monuments.
In 1964, E.D.F assign the monument to the Community of communes of Villefort. The castle was reinforced to protect it from dangers of the lake.
In 2000, a terrible fire destroyed the castle but it will be fully restored and will reopen its doors in 2007. The castle provides the setting for exhibitions for the summer period.

Château de Castanet

Originally, Château de la Selve was a fortified house first on the frontier of the Empire and then of the Kingdom of France.
It then became the hunting lodge of a famous family from the Vivarais, the Dukes de Joyeuse, before being transformed, century after century, into a farm.
Built during the 13th century, it has the typical architecture of all houses and castles of the Bas-Vivarais.
Located on the bank of the Chassezac, the main Ardèche’s tributary, it benefits from a unique and protected environment.
In 1990, this magnificent house became the property of my parents, Jean-Régis and Magdeleine Chazallon. Today, a wing of the castle has been converted into five Gîtes de France (from 3 to 6 persons). In a large yard planted with trees, they offer a heaven of peace in the heart of the increasingly toured Ardèche.
http://sourgrapeswine.com/chteau-de-la-selve/

Château de la Selve 

During the 11th century, a garrison was built in the village, creating a type of police, designed to ensure the safety of the travellers. To pay for this, some charges were collected, especially toll charges (on all goods or travellers who passed that way), guiding charges (for protection of travellers and goods), cartelage charges (on foodstuffs which were measured a la carte), pulverage charges (when passing flocks raised dust!) and many other charges. Thenceforth La Garde-Guerin established a secular community vassal system, organised according to the headmasters of Knighthood Schools and advocating equal rights and duties for everyone. This phenomenon was unusual in France at that period but was never equalled and grew into the "Chevaliers pariers" (so called because they were equal in rights). Although Aldebert III (Bishop of Mende) could not even know what had occurred there, after several attempts, in 1163, he succeeded in besieging La Garde, leading a group of noblemen whom he had convinced of the excessive cost of the rights and the unfair behaviour of the "Chevaliers pariers". Then, La Garde was put into the care of the Guerin du Tournel Family, which is why the village was called La Garde-Guerin. The "Chevaliers pariers" shared the seigneury and each owned a house with a well. The houses were separated by very narrow "streets" (about 12 inches wide! ) called "Pans du Roi"; this was to delimic their properties, creating independencc, whereby "everyone should look to his own affairs".
In 1258, 31 properties were counted. Even now it is still possible to see same 31 houses ! From 1260 the "Chevaliers pariers" elected 2 a year who took the oath in front of the bishop. They were in charge of the sharing out of the incomes and the upkeep of the way.
In 1367, Louis d'Anjou, Count of Maine, second son of the King of France and lieutenant in Languedoc, instituted a three day's fair for Saint Catherine's day - November 25th - and a market on Mondays.
In 1721 this fair was moved to the 29th of September (Saint Michel's day: patron saint of the village).
3 The history of La Garde Guerin in Lozere (Occitanie)In the 16th century, the Bishop of Mende, Renaud de Beaume, sold his shares in the village to the lord of Morangies who then held the majority. By the end of the 16th century, during the wars of religion, the castle and the village were burnt. The village was immediately rebuilt by the heirs of the "Chevaliers Pariers". Its Renaissance style is called "Regordanien", locally linked to the Regordane Way and to certain architectural features, for example carriage entrances that can be seen in the church street in Villefort and also in other villages located along the Regordane Way.
In 1722, the castle was burnt once again because of the carelessness of a farmer. This happened because the owners preferred to go to Versailles, and let the castle to the farmers who did not take care of it. All the old rights and charges were at last abolished during the French Revolution of 1789.
In 1795, while the castle was in ruins because of the fire, one of the towers fell down on a house and killed most of the inhabitants. The building of the present road began in 1840. The Regordane Way was then only used as a transhumance way, for moving animals to seasonal pastures.
In 1929, the castle, the donjon and the church were listed as Historic Monuments and the village became a registered site.
In 1992, La Garde-Guerin was granted the label of one of the finest villages in France ("Plus Beaux Villages de France").
The Church: Supposedly dating from the 12th century, the church is in a Romanesque Provencal style dedicated to Saint Michel. The barrel vault: is made of freestone.
The crossing of the nave and the apse are supported by a double salient arch which is built on pillars.
The capitals are all different. They are all sculptured, sometimes with designs of leaves, flowers or animals, sometimes with enigmatic biblical people.
The top of the columns are often aderned with a checked pattern.
The chancel: is ornamented by harmonising arches with small columns or simple capitals. Two stained- glass windows let the light in. There is a small tornb cut in the rock under the chancel where the Consuls of the "Pariers" of la Garde were buried.
5 The history of La Garde Guerin in Lozere (Occitanie)The portal: is made of three moulded projections up to the tympan. They are carved in massive stone. The small opening up to the door lights up the altar at sunset.
The bells: One of the bells dates from 1643. They are hung up on the arches and form what is called in French 'clocher-mur", literally "wall steeple". On both sides, we can see some buttresses which support the vault's outward thrust.
The Castle: It is situated on the most north-easterly point of the village, which is the least accessible place, the easiest one to defend. A bishop's organization in 1058 recorded the existence of the castle of la Garde. We can imagine from the ruins that there were successive reconstructions and transformations of the castle during the 16th and 17th centuries, especially during the Religious Wars.
The Tower: The time of its construction is undetermined (between the 12th and the 14th century). It is 21.50 metres high, it is a three storey vaulted tower; the first floor is to store food and the others to live in. There used to be another floor but it has been destroyed.
The Ramparts: Many were demolished to give the village more daylight and the ditches were filled with the stone from the ramparts. Depending on the area, the remaining ramparts can reach 8 to 10 metres high with an average thickness of 1.65 metres. They are constructed of regular sandstone blocks that are blackened by the sun. They were originally surrounded by wide ditches cut into the rock, except at Chassezac where the rarnparts stood on the edge of the cliffs. Lots of them have been rebuilt; from the original period only a few remain.
http://la.garde48.free.fr/en/history.htm