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Origin and history

The Bosc Castle, founded in 1180, was originally a fortress designed to protect the Viaur Valley. Partly destroyed, it was rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries. The land of the Bosc remained in the same family, the Imbert du Bosc, an old consular family of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, who aggravated to the nobility at the end of the 16th century. This family gave officers to the king's service and died in the 19th century.

By alliance, the castle then passed to Toulouse-Lautrec. Countess Gabrielle de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henry's paternal grandmother, transformed him into a family home and built the chapel in 1880. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec spent much of his childhood and summers with his family. When he died in 1901, the castle returned to his cousins, the Tapié de Céleyran, until 2016.

The castle, which has been part of the historical monuments since 1991, preserves architectural elements from the 16th and 19th centuries, such as the roofs "to the Polish" of the towers, inspired by Marie Leszczynska, or the drawings scratched by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec on the walls of the communes. The chapel, the facades of the communes, the terrace with well and fountain, as well as the park, registered in 2003, complete this historical ensemble.

In 2016, the castle finally left the Toulouse-Lautrec family after the death of Nicole-Bérengère Tapié de Céleyran, the great-little niece of the painter. A court proceeding then opposed the descendants of the former owners to the present, with a first judgement in 2021 in favour of them, followed by an appeal.

Today, the castle is open all year round. Visitors can discover the children's room of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, its cradle, its toys, as well as drawings that he made in his youth on plasters of the communes. The Renaissance fireplace of 1521, located in the guard room, also bears witness to its rich architectural past.

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