Bastide de Plaisance (Gabre)

Gabre

On the hills of the Lèze, north of La Bastide-de-Sérou, Gabre was in the Middle Ages a commandery of the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem, to whom the count of Foix had ceded the place. In 1281 the Hospitallers concluded a paréage with Eustache de Beaumarchais, seneschal of Toulouse for the king of France, which made it possible to found in 1283 a bastide named Bastide de Plaisance. The agreement turned Gabre into a royal enclave of Languedoc in the heart of the county of Foix, confirmed in 1308. The bastide hardly grew and remained the administrative centre of a large commune dominated by its outlying hamlets; the church of Saint-Laurent can still be seen there, built in the 13th century by the Hospitallers beside the tower of their commandery. From 1529 onwards gentlemen glassmakers settled there, and the village became a centre of Protestantism.

Getting there : Free access to the village, to the church and to the surroundings of the temple; the temple holds services in summer.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound