Château d’Ayres – Wikipedia

The château d’Ayres is a castle located in the French town of Meyrueis, in Lozère. Today it houses a luxury hotel-restaurant.

The castle is located on the territory of the commune of Meyrueis, in Lozère, the former province of Gévaudan. It is located away from the city, one kilometer to the northeast, along the Jonte valley.

Since the VII ^{It is} century, a monastic foundation occupies the premises. Ruined by the Sarashic invasions, it is rebuilt in the following century ( VIII ^{It is} century). Subsequently, the wars of Aquitaine destroy it again … around 1025, a monk named Martin begins a second reconstruction and set up a Benedictine community there. Depending on the Abbey of Aniane first, the priory was bought in 1058 by the Abbey of Saint-Victor in Marseille ^{[ first ]} . The priory controls a very extensive agricultural domain and is soon known as Saint-Martin des Ayres ( aires : surfaces to beat wheat?). He then received prestigious visits, especially those repeated from the White Queen of Castile. He also receives donations accordingly.

Finally, the priory falls into the park of the Cathedral chapter of Montpellier. At the beginning of XVI ^{It is} A century, the monks abandoned this austere residence. Only a sacristan remains there: he is responsible for passing on the significant income from the farm. During the wars of religion, the buildings are taken up by a Protestant family from Montpellier, the Galtier de Montauran. They transform the premises into a “military fort” from which they launch spectacular operations: taking the canourgue, fire of the Meyrueis church …

In 1630, Meyrueis was punished with his support for the Protestant troupe of the Duke of Rohan. While the castle of Rock (in Meyrueis) is shaved on the orders of Richelieu (1632), the Senechal of Anduze beheads the two corner towers of the castle of Ayres and fell the surrounding wall built by the “Galtier d’Ayres”. With Louis XIV and the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), the Galtier made amends by converting to Catholicism (perhaps helped in this decision by the disturbing presence of a regiment of dragons of the King cantonizing on Meyrueis) .

A few years later, at the start of XVIII ^{It is} A century, Camisards took the assault castle, fire it and then take refuge in its smoking ruins to wait for the negotiations of their chiefs with the Marshal of Villars. Rebuilt by the Manoël de Nogaret family ^{[ 2 ]} , the castle crosses the French Revolution without too many hoods. In the surroundings, two mills ( Moulin d’Ayres and Moulin de Montblanc ) are active in the first part of XIX ^{It is} century ^{[ 3 ]} .

At the beginning of XX ^{It is} century, it was sold and gradually transformed into a country hotel. The building thus receives brand hosts: Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, General de Gaulle. The last heiress of the walls marries a distant cousin of the Nogaret, thus reintroducing this property in the heritage of this family.

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