Feugarolles

A stone's throw from the Landes region, Feugarolles has always been an important crossroads and meeting place for French and English, Catholics and Protestants, Agenais and Néracais. This is still evident today in the many networks that crisscross the town: the Garonne, Baïse, and Auvignon rivers, the Garonne side canal, as well as the highway and railroad. This small village, a former bastide, and its surrounding hamlets still bear witness to its past renown: there are no fewer than five castles and as many churches: Brazalem, Limon, Salles, Le Paravis, etc.

According to Loredan-Larchey's "Dictionary of Names," the name FEUGAROLLES derives from Falgas, Falguerolles, Falguières, meaning "field of ferns." This municipality has approximately 864 inhabitants and its highest point is 172 meters above sea level.

On the edge of Albret, at the crossroads of two roads coming from the Pyrenees that meet, linger, merge to form one, before separating again while a third escapes towards BOUSSERES, crosses the GARONNE beyond THOUARS SUR GARONNE, the commune of FEUGAROLLES covers 2,250 hectares in the canton of LAVARDAC, district of NERAC, from the hillsides of ESPIENS to the plain of the GARONNE, from the discreet BAÏSE to the capricious AUVIGNON.

Two leagues from the Landes region, in an area of ancient alluvial deposits and sandy molasses where limestone reappears at the foot of the hills, FEUGAROLLES evokes in its name the ferns that grow on the edge of the pine forest. In a predestined location, its territory has been a place of passage throughout the ages; a "carrière" (road) used by the Roman regions, alternately a link, a waiting ground, or a battlefield between the Celtic world and the Iberian peoples, between Condomois and Bazadais, French and English, Catholics and Protestants, Agenais and Néracais. Today, FEUGAROLLES is primarily an agricultural community with rich and varied crops, preserving the memory of centuries past.

Trenquelléon Castle: Ownedby the Batz de Trenquelléon family, Trenquelléon Castle dates back to the 18th century. "From the entrance gate with its gracefully curled wrought iron scrolls between two pillars crowned with pine cones, you can see the central pavilion of the château topped with a small pediment boldly placed above the entrance door and raised on a terrace that a beautiful horseshoe staircase connects to the main courtyard. The long, single-story building ends at each end with a pavilion covered by an enormous slate roof, somewhat reminiscent of a Mansard roof, but with a more complex curve that rounds into a dome. The castle was built in the 18th century on the remains of an older building and completed in 1771. Trencaleou, in the Occitan language, literally means "lion's slice." It was a son of Count Othon de Lomagne, a remarkable swordsman, who received this nickname, due to his feat of arms during a battle with one of the many families who had a lion in their coat of arms: the lion of Guyenne or Arles, the House of Sabran, the lion of Armagnac appearing on the banner of Simon de Montfort. As heir to this fiefdom, he gave it his name.

Anecdote:LIMON Cemetery: grave of an English pilot who crashed with his plane on the hills of LIMON on August 4, 1944. His grave is marked by the propeller of his plane. A commemorative ceremony takes place on the first Sunday of August.

Monuments:Canal bridge spanning the BAÏSE river with its holding basins and locks. Pont des Bouches: Single-arch bridge dating from the mid-16th century. Railway bridge over the Garonne and Baîse rivers. Former priory of the Paravis women, which belonged to the nuns of the Order of Fontevrault. Founded in 1130 by Amalvin du Paravis and former 12th-century priory of St. Jean de l'Habit. Castles of Gueyze (17th century), Trenquelléon (18th century), Salles (18th century), Castelviel, Larderet Site of Brazalem and starting point for hiking trails –Retirementhome – Limon Cemetery (Catholic/Protestant) – Grave of an English airman who died on August 4, 1944. 

For more information:See detailsofFeugarolles'architectural heritageormovable heritage.