Castelnau-de-Lévis

French commune
nomcommune=Castelnau-de-Lévis


région=Midi-Pyrénées
département=Tarn
arrondissement=Albi
canton=Albi-Nord-Ouest
insee=81063
cp= 81150
maire=Robert Gauthier
mandat=2008–2014
intercomm=Communauté d'agglomération de l'Albigeois
longitude=2.08361111111
latitude=43.9375
alt moy=143 m
alt mini=133
alt maxi=280 m
hectares=2,142
km²=21.42
sans=1,403
date-sans=1999
dens=65
date-dens=1999

Castelnau-de-Lévis is a village and commune in the Tarn "département" of France, just west of Albi. At the 1999 census the population was 1,403. The inhabitants are "Castellévisiens and Castellévisiennes".

Château de Castelnau-de-Lévis

The "castel" was built at the beginning of the thirteenth century by Gicard Alamon, and called Castelnau de Bonnafonds. It was rebuilt by the Lévis in the fifteenth century, when the "seigneurie" came into the possession of Hugues d' Amboise, baron d'Aubijoux; the fief remained with his descendants until the seventeenth century. Hugues' grandson, Louis d'Amboise, comte d'Aubijoux and baron de Castelnau-de Bonnafous, restored the château and dwelt in it. The narrow square watchtower ("tour de guet") is 40m tall.

Apart from the watchtower, all that remains today is remnants of other buildings. From the castle, there is a good view of Albi and the Tarn valley ["Green Guide Languedoc, Roussillon, Tarn Gorges", p77, Michelin Tyre plc 1998, ISBN2-06-136602-3] .

The castle has been listed since 1909 as a "monument historique" by the French Ministry of Culture [ [http://www.culture.gouv.fr www.culture.gouv.fr] accessed 21 May 2008] .

Motocross

The village at the base of the château is the site of a motocross championship, the "Championnats du Monde MX3 et d’Europe 125 de Motocross." The track is also scheduled to host the French 2009 Sidecarcross world championship Grand Prix on 5 April 2009, however, this will still have to be confirmed by the FIM [ [http://www.sidecarcross.de/home/home.htm Sidecarcross.de: Vorläufige Termine 2009] (in German)] .

ee also

*Communes of the Tarn department

External links

* [http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/merimee_fr?ACTION=RETROUVER&FIELD_1=INSEE&VALUE_1=81063&NUMBER=1&GRP=0&REQ=%28%2881063%29%20%3aINSEE%20%29&USRNAME=nobody&USRPWD=4%24%2534P&SPEC=9&SYN=1&IMLY=&MAX1=1&MAX2=100&MAX3=100&DOM=Tous Ministry of Culture listing for Château de Castelnau-de-Lévis] fr
* [http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/memoire_fr?ACTION=CHERCHER&FIELD_5=LBASE&VALUE_5=PA00095499 Ministry of Culture photos]

References