My castle for a ship!

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Yesterday we saw a sign to ‘Chateau de Portes’ so decided to stop and visit it. A deciding factor was the large, shady carpark. We were given a laminated sheet in English. I took photos of each side as I knew I wouldn’t remember all the details. The chateau has seen a number of owners but what we found most interesting was its shape. Antoine-Hercule de Budos is responsible for the acute 49 degree angle of the chateau which makes it looks like the prow of a ship. He thought this was appropriate as he had been promoted to Vice-Admiral of France. This was in the early 1600s I think. The chateau’s ‘prow’ faces towards Ales where de Budos’ arch enemy, the Protestant Duke of Rohan, lives. Because of its shape the chateau is sometimes called the ‘vaisseau en Cévennes’ (vessel of Cévennes’). In 1929, extensive mining for coal under the castle caused parts of the chateau to collapse by as much as 70cm. The chateau and surrounding village (Portes) were immediately evacuated. The village was rebuilt a short distance away and around 1960, the chateau grounds were stabilised and in 1972 work began to restore the castle. One corner tower at least had every stone numbered before the tower was dismantled and later re-erected. Once we'd finished at the chateau, we met two people in the carpark who were handing out brochures and giving information to any who might like it. We picked two leaflets written in English and enjoyed our chat with the two young people. France looks after its tourists very well in most cases.