Discover D'Artagnan: Charles de Batz Castelmore d'Artagnan, born in Lupiac around 1613 and killed in Maastricht (Netherlands) on 25 June 1673 while leading the prestigious first Company of Musketeers of King Louis XIV.
This very real character, remarkable in more ways than one, inspired the mythical D'Artagnan of Alexandre Dumas' Three Musketeers.
Great loyal servant of Mazarin and then of Louis XIV, who placed their full trust in him. Personally in charge of the arrest of the superintendent Fouquet and then of his escort. A destiny out of the ordinary.
Come discover and rub shoulders with d'Artagnan in his native village of Lupiac.
The d'Artagnan Museum invites you to dive into the 17th century in the company of the Musketeers and d'Artagnan. Beware!
Come to discover the real life of d'Artagnan, he who left his village of Lupiac, around 1630 to become Captain of Musketeers, close friend of Louis XIV and later... A legend!
Numerous documents and reproductions of works evoke the real history of d'Artagnan as well as his historic context.
a game-leaflet for the children. Pencil in hand and eyes wide open, leave for the adventure of the Musketeers!
Written guide (French / English / German / Dutch / Spanish / Russian)
Souvenir shop, free parking, toilets, garden.
Individuals: adult 6€, 12 - 18 yrs 5€, under 12 yrs 3€
Groups: schools 3€ per child, 5€ per adult, (paid for together by one person)
St-Jacques chapel, 200 m West of the village square
Always: French, English.
Often, depending on staff present: German, Spanish.
Open from Saturday 25 March to Sunday 12 November 2023 inclusive:
Museum closed from 13 November 2023 to mid-March 2024.
Group tours available year-round by prior arrangement. Contact the museum well in advance.
Les Trois Mousquetaires Héros de BD (The Three Musketeers, comic strip Heroes)
from 24 June to 12 November 2023
D'Artagnan, legendary hero of the most famous novel of the swashbuckling The Three Musketeers, really existed. To create his character, Alexandre Dumas was inspired by the work of a novelist of the time of Louis XIV, Courtils de Sandras, who, in 1700 published the Memoires de Monsieur d'Artagnan. In these memoirs the author presents in a very romantic manner the life of an authentic youngster of Gascony, lieutenant-captain of the first company of musketeers of King Louis XIV; Charles de Batz Castelmore d'Artagnan.
Born of a Gascon father....
The father of our hero was allied to the branch of Montesquiou, one of the most important lineages of Gascony. This noble family descends from the ancient counts of Fezensac.
It was in the chateau of d'Artagnan, near Vic en Bigorre that, on 6 February 1608, the marriage took place of these nobles. Jean de Montesquiou d'Artagnan, former officer in the French Guard, gave on this day the hand of his daughter, Francoise de Montesquiou to Sir Bertrand de Batz-Castelmore, lord of La Plagne. Of this union were born seven children, three daughters, Claude, Henrye and Jeanne. Then four sons, Paul, Arnaud, Jean and......Charles de Batz de Castelmore, lord of La Plagne, count d'Artagnan.
Yes it is indeed our young Gascon of whom all the world knows the exploits!
Behold our hero....
the 7th child of the de Batz Castelmore! D'ARTAGNAN In his true name, Charles de Batz Castelmore he first opened his eyes in about 1613 in the chateau of his ancestors in the little village of Lupiac.
Aged only about 17 our young Gascon went to Paris.
After his entry into the musketeers in 1644, Cardinal Mazarin entrusted d'Artagnan, during Le Fronde, with a number of missions requiring total discretion.
Links of reciprocal confidence and estime, already begun during Le Fronde were confirmed between King Louis XIV and d'Artagnan. His open, brave and faithful character pleased the young king who had total confidence in him.
d'Artagnan's place was henceforth with the King Louis XIV.
Charles de Batz Castelmore, d'Artagnan died on 24 June 1673 at Maastricht in Holland.
To find out more about the true history of d'Artagnan we recommend that you visit "The World of d'Artagnan":
In the square at Lupiac, one of the oldest "castelnaux" of the Gers, there stands the first equestrian statue of d'Artagnan, inaugurated on 09 August 2015.
Thanks to the talent of sculptress Daphné du Barry and to the generosity of a Gascon patron, this monumental bronze - 3.5 metres high and weighing more than a tonne - represents d'Artagnan, on his rearing steed and brandishing his sword. The impression of movement and the attention to detail are such that we expect to hear the neighing of the horse.
This work is the starting point (or end point) of the Route Européene d'Artagnan.
This is a reconstruction of a Fair at the time of d'Artagnan. The day involves about 500 costumed volunteers, more than thirty musketeers on horseback and on foot, a camp of soldiers of the Thirty Years' War, dozens of craftsmen. You can take part in a Gascon Mass, listen to Baroque songs and music, feed in taverns and inns serving drink and food of the 17th century.
You can learn to fire a musket and use a pike, be present at duels and disturbances, watch dances by the washerwomen and the gypsies, play games from the time of our musketeer and attend a lecture on the time of d'Artagnan.
Come and spend a day in company of all these people in costume who dance, sing, and engage in duels, and enjoy the spectacle and the fun of the fair.
Sunday 11 August 2024. pencil it in!
17th century fashion
The Lupiac Gazette ("Gazette de Lupiac" - in French only), with the detailed programme of the festival
La "Gazette de Lupiac" 2023 et son supplément mode
For more information, please contact the organisers of the festival:
Association d'Artagnan chez d'Artagnan
For the 2014-2018 videos by Jean-Mary Lefebvre:
Starting from Lupiac in the Gers where Charles de Batz Castelmore, better known as "d'Artagnan", was born around 1613, the European Route d’Artagnan unfolds along more than 6,000 km of trails through 15 regions in six European countries: Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands. Including 300 km in the Gers department alone.
The two main branches of the Route link Lupiac to Maastricht, in the Netherlands, where d'Artagnan died in battle on 25 June 1673.
The Route d'Artagnan extends a web around historical landmarks, witnesses to the exemplary journey of the real d'Artagnan, and literary landmarks, scenes of the novels of Alexandre Dumas that immortalized d'Artagnan and his fellow musketeers.
The Route takes travellers on a journey of discovery of not only 17th century European history, but also of the landscapes, identities, traditions and heritage associated with the life of this iconic figure.
The Route d’Artagnan was certified a Cultural route of the Council of Europe in 2021. This made it part of a programme launched in 1987 to demonstrate, by means of a journey through space and time, how the heritage of the different countries and cultures of Europe contributes to a shared and living cultural heritage..
True to the spirit of the famous motto of the Three musqueteers, All for one, one for all, the Route d'Artagnan is a route for all: horse riders, cyclists (mountain bikes) and walkers. Some portions are also accessible to horse drawn vehicles.
The Route is accessible to the greatest number of people, with a minimum of resources or technical or physical capacities required. Accessible and popular, like the unforgettable novels of Alexandre Dumas.
For more informations:
You can see on the map below the trails already in place in the Gers (tracks in blue):
This map is also accessible on Géoportail:
Source of data for the tracks: Gers Open data:
(usually in stock at the D'Artagnan Museum shop)
The author:
Historian, doctor in art history, heritage curator, Odile Bordaz was successively curator of the museums of the Gers, administrator of historical monuments for the Center for National Monuments, notably the Saint-Denis Basilica, necropolis of the kings of France, and the Château de Vincennes.
Odile Bordaz has worked for more than 15 years on d'Artagnan, to whom she has dedicated a monumental biography. Since 2012, she has been kind enough to come to Lupiac every year and share with us the daily life of our musketeer and his comrades.
Her books (in French):
"D’Artagnan, Captain-Lieutenant of the first company of the king’s musketeers", published 2001
Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan, the most famous of the musketeers, is an authentic cadet from Gascony, who arrived at court during the reign of King Louis XIII. A confidant of Queen Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin, he spent over thirty years in the service of King Louis XIV.
Captain lieutenant of the first company of musketeers, known as the "Grands Mousquetaires" or "Mousquetaires gris", an elite officer, he took part in all the campaigns of the early part of Louis XIV's reign, under the orders of Marshal de Turenne and Prince de Condé.
A gentleman of the Sun King's court, contemporary of Molière and Lully, d'Artagnan was appointed Governor of Lille in 1672, a year before his death in Maastricht.
From his native Gascony to Limbourg, his life tells the story of several decades of the 17th century.
This book is the result of several years of new research carried out across Europe, in the very places where the Captain-Lieutenant of the Musketeers lived and worked. It draws on previously unpublished documents, uncovers unexpected elements and sheds new light on this character, who was much more than a cloak-and-dagger hero.
Exciting in more ways than one, the "real d'Artagnan" has nothing to envy of the legendary hero. He has the bravery, the panache and the glory. But isn't reality sometimes more beautiful than fiction?
"D'Artagnan and the King's Musketeers - 1622-1775", published 2018
We thought we knew almost everything about d'Artagnan and the King's Musketeers. However, the discovery of numerous unpublished documents in various archives and libraries holds many surprises in store for us! The Musketeers are still the talk of the town, and their popularity has never waned. Their adventures have taken them around the world, and for centuries they have been the stuff of dreams for generations.
In this new book, the third part of a trilogy devoted to the historical figure of d'Artagnan, Odile Bordaz provides valuable and often unexpected information on the most famous of the musketeers. In d'Artagnan's entourage, among the men in his company or the members of his family, there are characters who deserved to emerge from the shadows, whether they were musketeers for their entire career, or for just for a few years.
This book also presents the main events that marked the life of the two companies of the King's Musketeers, and thus two centuries of history.
"In the footsteps of d’Artagnan and the musketeers – Places and routes", with Claude Bordaz, published 2021
Charles de Batz de Castelmore d'Artagnan, the most famous of the musketeers, is an authentic cadet from Gascony, who arrived at court during the reign of King Louis XIII. A confidant of Queen Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin, he spent over thirty years in the service of King Louis XIV.
Captain lieutenant of the first company of musketeers, known as the "Grands Mousquetaires" or "Mousquetaires gris", an elite officer, he took part in all the campaigns of the early part of Louis XIV's reign, under the orders of Marshal de Turenne and Prince de Condé.
A gentleman of the Sun King's court, contemporary of Molière and Lully, d'Artagnan was appointed Governor of Lille in 1672, a year before his death in Maastricht.
From his native Gascony to Limbourg, his life tells the story of several decades of the 17th century.
After several acclaimed books, including a biography of d'Artagnan and a study of the Mousquetaires du Roy, Odile Bordaz, one of the world's leading specialists on the famous musketeer, once again takes readers to the heart of the 17th century, an era she knows well and whose passion she knows how to share with us.
After several years of investigation, research and travel, carried out jointly with her husband, Claude Bordaz, she invites us, in the company of the king’s musketeers, on a journey through history and stories... Cadets from Gascony, Béarn, Bigorre and elsewhere...
To the hectic rhythm of the 17th century, we'll follow them on the roads of panache and glory, in France and surrounding countries, from the gentilhommières of their native provinces to the royal residences, passing through sometimes unexpected places.
We'll accompany them to the city and the court, along a series of routes, many of which are now part of the European Route d'Artagnan, a cultural route of the Council of Europe.
Under the title "Une grand fête régionaliste à Lupiac - D'Artagnan chez d'Artagnan" (A great regional festival in Lupiac - D'Artagnan at home), an article in La Dépêche reports on the grand return of d'Artagnan to Castelmore, on Sunday 3 June 1934.
Donwload a copy of
The article (in French) in La Dépêche of Tuesday 5 June 1934
