France · Still standing
Château de Foix
The Château de Foix is a medieval fortress that dominates the town of Foix in the Ariège department of southern France. Built around a rocky crag with multiple towers and stepped curtain walls, it was a regional stronghold and later served as a garrison; since 1930 it houses the départemental museum. The site has been listed as a monument historique since 1840.
First raised
987
Its prime
1650
Today
Still standing
As it stood in 1650
The shape it held in its prime.
Perched on a rocky crag above the town, the château presents a compact silhouette of high curtain walls and terraces stepping down the slope. Three principal towers dominate the skyline: two older square towers with crenellated tops and a larger cylindrical round keep with a machicolated parapet; one tall square tower is capped by a steep slate roof with a small spire. Pale grey-buff dressed stone, continuous battlement walks and layered defensive walls enclose service buildings and a central ward.
Its story
The story of Château de Foix.
A fortress on the crag at Foix is known from 987, built over an older 7th-century fortification, and in 1002 Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, bequeathed it in his will to his youngest child, Bernard. From 1034 the castle was capital of the County of Foix; the ruling family installed here controlled access to the upper Ariège valley and kept surveillance over the lower land from behind walls contemporaries thought impregnable.
During the crusade against the Albigensians the counts became the soul of Occitan resistance, and the county a privileged refuge for persecuted Cathars; Simon de Montfort besieged the castle in 1211 and 1212 without taking it. It fell only once, in 1486, through treachery during a war between two branches of the Foix family. Seat of the Governor of the Foix region from the 15th century, it continued to defend the area through the Wars of Religion, and has been listed as a monument historique since 1840.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1650.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Château de Foix — including 3 interiors: walled inner bailey and service range, prison cell inside one of the square towers, governor's reception chamber within the keep complex. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Château de Foix with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1650 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Château de Foix.
The families that held Château de Foix for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Foix
Held by the family of the Counts of Foix from Roger I of Carcassonne's bequest to his son Bernard in 1002; capital of the County of Foix from 1034.
