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Origin and history

The Renaissance-style Canac castle was built at the end of the 16th century in the seigneury of Boisseson de Masviel, on a promontory at 688 m above sea level. Its construction was initiated by Aldonce de Peyrusse and her husband Guillaume de Genibrouse, Protestants fleeing their castle of Saint-Amans destroyed in 1588 during the Wars of Religion. Notarial acts attest to their presence in 1592, and archaeological excavations (2009-2011) did not reveal any previous medieval vestiges.

The castle served as a temporary residence for the Genibrous family, linked to two powerful Protestant lines in Castres County. After William's death in 1593, Aldonce remarried with Pierre de Caylus, thus consolidating seigneurial alliances. The site was raised in seigneury in 1630 for their son Jean, who gave it in 1648 to his nephew Jacques. As early as the 17th century, the abandoned castle became a place for collecting royalties before falling into ruins.

The remains, rediscovered in the 21st century, were secured between 2008 and 2011 thanks to a collaboration between the town hall of Murat-sur-Vèbre, DRAC Occitanie and volunteers. The excavations revealed objects of the 16th-17th centuries (currency, pottery), confirming its ephemeral occupation. Today, the site is accessible by a walking path and offers a panorama of the valley, while maintaining remarkable architectural elements such as a bastioned tower and a monumental staircase.

The building, built in a local schist with sandstone frames, presents two nearby construction phases: a first house body (ESP 1) completed by a wing, a tower and a staircase. The interior spaces, with fireplaces and woodwork missing, reflect a typical seigneurial organization. The coat of arms of the Genibrous, probably affixed above the door, disappeared. The castle illustrates the adaptation of Protestant elites to religious conflicts and their decline after the pacification of the kingdom.

Ranked among "historical curiosities" since 1923, the site was long neglected before its rehabilitation. The works, rewarded with a national prize in 2009, allowed to stabilize the ruins and open an access road from the hamlet. The castle of Canac, although unknown, is a rare testimony of the civil defensive architecture of the Renaissance in the South-West, linked to the history of the Peyrus and Genibrous families.

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