Château de Castelnau-Bretenoux

Prudhomat

Built around 1070 by Hugues I, first Baron of Castelnau, on a spur overlooking the confluence of the Dordogne, the Bave and the Cère, the château de Castelnau-Bretenoux became the seat of one of the most powerful baronies of the Quercy. Maffre II of Castelnau, baron from 1212 to 1255, went on crusade according to local tradition and paid homage to the King of France. In 1369, Jean I of Castelnau rose up against the English occupiers during the Hundred Years' War. The fortifications, with their six semicircular towers and three enclosures forming an almost triangular plan, were completed between 1380 and 1395; the square 13th-century keep rises to 30 metres. In 1507, the barons obtained papal permission to found a collegiate church at the foot of the castle. The estate fell into ruin after the Revolution. Bought in 1896 by the tenor Jean Mouliérat, a singer at the Opéra-Comique and art collector, it absorbed thirty years of his restoration work before he bequeathed it to the French State in 1932, a few days before his death. The writer and inspector-general of historic monuments Prosper Mérimée had already described the building as a "summary of the arts of the Middle Ages", a phrase that has remained attached to the site.

Getting there : At Prudhomat, 25 km north-east of Rocamadour; parking at the foot of the site, walk up to the castle entrance.

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

Ambient sound