Castelsagrat

Castelsagrat

Castelsagrat, the "sacred castle" in Occitan, occupies a height of the Quercy blanc between Valence-d'Agen and Lauzerte. The village received a charter of customs from Alphonse of Poitiers, count of Toulouse, in 1270 and became a royal town the following year, on the count's death; the Inventaire notice describes it as a "village called a bastide", with a regular plan laid out around a square with covered arcades. That square is the jewel of the place: arcaded galleries of the 13th and 14th centuries surround it, and at its centre opens an immense and very deep well, of small stone coursing, which tradition attributes to the Romans. The fortified church of the 14th century holds a carved wooden altarpiece of the 17th century commissioned by the Saint-Raymond college of Toulouse. The enclosure was destroyed in 1622 on Richelieu's orders. During the Revolution the commune was called Chêne-Vert and then La Montagne-de-Traverse.

Getting there : Free access to the village; the arcaded square and the church may be visited freely. Castelsagrat is among the villages featured by Tarn-et-Garonne Tourisme.

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

Ambient sound