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Photo: Gérard MARIN, CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
As a starting point for their campaigns in the Mediterranean, the Dukes of Anjou Louis II and Louis III built fortress-like chateau from 1400 to 1435. The interior was expanded by the artistically talented King René I. After his death in 1481, the castle was used by the French royal troops as a garrison and later (until 1926) as a prison. As the site of prisoner massacres at the time of the French Revolution, the castle earned an inglorious place in history. The access via the castle moat, the inner courtyard, the main courtyard around the royal apartments and various ballrooms are worth seeing. From the roof terrace there is a beautiful view over the old town of Tarascon and to Beaucaire.
The Château de Tarascon is a medieval castle in Tarascon in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the south of France. The fortress stands on the banks of the Rhône opposite Château de Beaucaire, and near St Martha's Collegiate Church and ensured the security of the western border of Provence. Destroyed and rebuilt in the first half of the 15th century in a combination of Gothic and Renaissance styles, the fortress was a venue for events, meetings, and celebrations for King René before being converted into a military prison at the end of the 18th century. Today, the structure stands as one of the best preserved castles in the world and has been classified as a national historic site since 1840.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
The statue of Tarasque by P. Demaument stands right next to the castle.
Collegiate Church of the Royal College of Sainte-Marthe
The building from 11th-12th century was designed in the style of the Provençal Romanesque. The church with a side portal in the Provençal-Romanesque style was repeatedly renovated from the 14th to the 18th century and suffered bomb damage in 1944. In the crypt is the alleged tomb of St. Martha.
Town hall built in 1648
Medieval street with arcades
Cabinet de curiosities de Tartarin
The former Franciscan convent houses an exhibition on the history of Alphonse Daudet's character in the novel Tartarin de Tarascon.
Private museum of Provencal Fabric