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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Belcastel Castle is located in the municipality of Lacave, in the Lot department (Occitanie), 150 metres above sea level. It dominates by 55 meters the Dordogne and Ouysse rivers, in the heart of a 138 hectare registered site since 1954. The monument, accessible by RD 43, remains a private property not open to the public. Its architecture combines a 15th century dungeon, a chapel mentioned since 1154 but rebuilt in the 14th-XVIth centuries, and a residential building from the late 18th or early 19th century.

According to historical descriptions, the castle includes an isolated square tower, a long housing body with a busy round tower, and the remains of an old enclosure. The chapel, distinct from the castle and situated on the edge of the cliff, was confirmed as possession of Benedictine abbey Saint-Martin de Tulle by Pope Pascal II in 1105. A deep ditch, now filled, once protected the building to the west. Archaeological excavations conducted in 1988 at the foot of the cliff revealed seven prehistoric levels, including the middle Magdalenian, rich in bones and tools.

Founded by Adhémar de Turenne, Viscount des Échelles (898-941), the castle is quoted in its 930 will under the name Castrum etiam bellum ("Castle still beautiful"), left to Tulle Abbey. The site was also used as a setting for the film A few gentlemen too quiet (1973), where it was the castle of the Countess. Although classified within a protected perimeter, its access remains restricted, preserving its historical and landscape character.

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