THE CASTLE OF TREASURE

Alexander was a lawyer at a Swiss bank in Geneva. He was immensely bored of it, as we well understand. One day, he dropped everything and took his family away to a new life. With his initiation, they purchased a large castle in the south of France, in Ariège, in the middle of a little-known but sumptuous countryside. The Castle of Prat-Bonrepaux dominates its surroundings from atop its wooded hill and offers magnificent views. Behind it, the most beautiful forests seem to extend to infinity.

With almost no help, Alexander restored the castle with the idea of turning it into a destination for wellness, and for the moment, a bed and breakfast. But being passionate about history, he rummages through the castle’s memories and archives to discover the past of his new home. That is how he discovered that it had been inhabited since Roman times. In fact, they found a tombstone on the property dating back to the Roman Empire dedicated “to the god of the manes”.

In the Middle Ages, the greatest lords of the region, the Counts of Comminges, were the owners. In all probability, the Templars had passed through and even settled there. The bishop of Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges, the Count of Mauléon, transformed the castle in the Middle Ages and settled his family there for three centuries to come. It was his descendants who gave the castle its splendid Renaissance character.

Many other illustrious families followed: the Barons of Montpezat, the Counts of Roquemaurel, the Montesquieu’s. In the 19th century, the Countess of Nouaillan resided in the castle for fifty years and brought its style into the 19th century.

After that, the castle fell into a kind of obsolescence, and Alexander found it in quite a dire state before undertaking its restoration. 

When invited to stay at the castle, I inspected its ghosts. There are many at the Castle of Prat, but not at all bothersome and rather welcoming. From my first visit, I was under the impression that the castle basement with its staggered terraces concealed many secrets, hallways, hidden rooms and more. The impatience to know more lead Alexander to consult our friend, a famous clairvoyant. She did, in fact, see rooms buried in a particular corner of the terrace. She claimed these rooms also held a treasure.

I was there one day when Alexander received his electrician, who is a bit of a sorcerer never separated from his magic wand. As he walked, he stopped precisely at the spot indicated by the clairvoyant. He declared that below were rooms now walled up and buried, which housed a significant treasure of religious objects. Buried by whom? How? When? It’s a mystery.

Right away, Alexander felt the strange certainty that, upon reflection, I could only confirm and support. There was indeed a treasure there, and the treasure had to be left alone. It was necessary to avoid at all costs searching, rummaging, or digging for it, for its discovery could have harmful consequences for complicated but very persuasive reasons. And so, a treasure there is, and there will be, remaining forever in its hiding place.


by  Prince Michael of Greece