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Bastide (planned town)Lot-et-Garonne

Bastide de Castelnaud-de-Gratecambe

Castelnaud-de-Gratecambe

Dimensions
The village is read first of all in its plan: two streets parallel to the line of the ridge, a central square open between them where market and fairs were held, and the church of Saint-Martin, rebuilt in the 19th century, at the eastern point of the plateau. Of the castle only a few stones survive at the base of the presbytery. In the surroundings, the church of Saint-Pierre de Cailladelles, of the 12th century altered in the 19th, and the manor of Merguet of the 16th century.
Period
Bastide attributed to Alphonse of Poitiers between 1256 and 1270; Castrum novum in 1307-1317; market and fairs instituted by Francis I in 1529; Wars of Religion in the 16th century; church rebuilt in the 19th century.
What stands there
The churches of Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre de Cailladelles are recorded in the Inventaire général du patrimoine culturel. The bastide appears in the list of the foundations of Alphonse of Poitiers but has no entry at the Fédération des Bastides d'Aquitaine. Market and fairs were instituted there by Francis I in 1529.

Between Villeneuve-sur-Lot and Bergerac, Castelnaud-de-Gratecambe stretches its village along a narrow hillside with steep slopes, a natural defence which explains the choice of the site. The name says everything: Castelnau, the new castle, attested in the form Castrum novum between 1307 and 1317, and Gratecambe, the rounded height of the rock. The bastide is attributed to Alphonse of Poitiers, brother of Saint Louis and count of Toulouse, between 1256 and 1270. It never reached the scale of Monflanquin or of Castillonnès, but its linear plan, two lengthwise streets following the ridge with the church at the eastern end and an open square between the two streets, remains legible. In the 16th century its Catholic lords made war on those of Monflanquin, who had gone over to the Reformation. Of the castle only a few stones at the base of the presbytery are said to remain. A modest bastide, to be seen for its ridge site.

Further reading

Getting there : Free access to the village. No tourist office or present-day market is documented in the texts.

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

See it on the map OpenStreetMap Directions

Ambient sound

Bastide de Castelnaud-de-Gratecambe
Père Igor · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nearby

In the same department

All places — Lot-et-Garonne (34).