Mont-de-Marsan Romanesque Houses

The Romanesque houses of Mont-de-Marsan

The Mont-de-Marsan audio-guided tour presents you with the Romanesque houses, rare witnesses of medieval civil dwelling that make the city a remarkable case in the south-west of France.

Fortified houses of the Middle Ages

Built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, these stone dwellings are among the oldest civil houses preserved in France. Fortified houses, they combined the dwelling with a defensive role, as the loopholes pierced in their thick walls testify. Raised by well-off families of the town, they bordered the streets of medieval Mont-de-Marsan. Several of them were listed as historic monuments between 1929 and 1942 and today house institutions such as the prefecture or museums.

What there is to see

The Romanesque houses strike with their stone walls, their loopholes and their massive silhouette, inherited from a time when one combined comfort and protection. They tell the history of a prosperous and fortified town. To be discovered along the streets of the centre, they form one of the most precious ensembles of medieval civil architecture in the region.

Practical information

The Romanesque houses are in the historic centre of Mont-de-Marsan. Their façades can be contemplated freely from the street; some house institutions or museums that can be visited according to their own hours.

Why are the Romanesque houses exceptional?

Because they are, with their twelfth and thirteenth centuries, among the oldest civil houses preserved in France.

What do some Romanesque houses house today?

Institutions and museums of the city, several of them having been listed as historic monuments between 1929 and 1942.