A. Château du Fraisse
Activities

8 CENTURIES OF HISTORY ! Fraisse castle came in our family in 1220 when Demoiselle Quitterie du Fraisse, last descendant of the family of the same name, wed Urbain des MONSTIERS.

In the XIII° century, le Fraisse was a "noble dwelling". There is not much left of it today. It was burnt in 1356 by the army of prince Edward of Wales, the famous Black Prince. It was rebuild after the Hundred Years War by Sieur Jacques des Monstiers. It forms what we now call the "vieux château" from the XV° century, which forms the right hand part of the buildings.

The Central part of the castle is the result of it's designer's taste for Italian Renaissance. As bishop of Bayonne, but also ambassador of the kings François 1er and Henri II to Charles Quint, Jean des Monstiers has had a remarquable diplomatic career. He retreated to le Fraisse and decided to rebuilt a large part of his ancestral home.

The architect was the italian Sebastiano Serlio.

The main door, with four ionic columns and inlaid with marbles, gives the courtyard warmth and discreet elegance.

On the first floor, a large dinning room in which the visitor can see a beautiful fire-place designed also by Serlio. On lower part of this fire-place, a naïve fresco represents le Fraisse in the XVI° century.