Castle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape
The Castle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a château located in the town of the same name in southeastern France. Its presence has dominated the landscape around the village and its renowned vineyards for more than 800 years. History The Castle of Châteauneuf was probably originally a Roman castrum destroyed during the great invasions. A 913 charter referred to the castellum de Leri. It also appeared under the name castellum de Leri in a 913 charter signed by Louis the Blind which ceded the site to Foulques, bishop of Avignon. The castrum on the hill was replaced with new construction by the Count of Toulouse, the overlord of the comté of Provence. The first mention of a Castro Novo (new fortified village), which led to the name Châteauneuf, did not appear until 1048. It fell to Godefredus Lauger, Bishop of Avignon, and his successors, through an 1157 charter in which the emperor Barbarossa mentioned the presence of a vineyard. In 1077 Rostaing, his successor, deeded the fief to Pierre d'Albaron, who built a keep there. Throughout the Middle Ages, the old château was a watchtower and a toll gate on the Rhône that passed to various families allied to the house of Albaron. Only a tower remained in 1146, and by 1283 it was already being referred to as "the old tower". It became the Château de l'Hers after it was enlarged in the 12th century, and it was renovated for the first time in the 13th. Some historians say the Knights Templar used it in the 12th century, but this legend was put to rest by 20th-century historians. Pontifical era Châteauneuf, like Bédarrides or Gigognan, had a special status in the Comtat Venaissin when the Antipopes came to Avignon. Its high and low justices didn't fall under the Recteur du Comtat but instead under the bishop of Avignon. Its three parishes were said to be In Comitatu et non-de Comitatu Pope Clement V visited 5 April 1314 before he crossed the Rhône to join Roquemaure, about fifteen days before he died. Jacques d'Euze, previously the bishop of Avignon, was elected pope in 1316 and took the name John XXII. Châteauneuf fell directly under his authority. He had been Pope barely three months when he commissioned construction work at l'Hers. The accounts of the Apostolic Camera indicate that he allocated 3000 florins to the restoration of the 12-century château. Then in 1317 he decided to build a new château above the village. It was finished in 1333. Due to its size and location its function was essentially defensive At the same time, in 1318, he circled it with ramparts. The successors of Jean XXII rarely stayed at Châteauneuf except when the plague threatened Avignon, and the papal court installed itself there. That was the case in 1383. Only Clement VII, the antipope from 1385 to 1387, had any maintenance done on the disused château. He also had the vines replanted. He was the pope who lived there the most. His successor, the