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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of Cas, located in Espinas (Tarn-et-Garonne), finds its origins in the 9th century on a Gallo-Roman site. Integrated with the possessions of the Templar Commandery of La Capelle-Livron, it was redesigned in the 14th, 17th and 18th centuries. The chapel (960) houses a family vault, while the dungeon and towers, partially destroyed during the Revolution, testify to its defensive role on the road between Caylus and Saint-Antonin. Cruciform archeries and slots of the primitive castle remain visible in the east wing.

In the 18th century, Claude-Marie de Lastic Saint-Jal, governor of Carcassonne, married the heir of the castle, Henriette de Lacapelle, consolidating his aristocratic anchor. The estate, which had never been sold since 1437, suffered major damage: revolutionary looting (burned furniture, coat of arms destroyed), and damage during the Second World War after a denunciation to the Germans. The latter, seeking in vain hidden ammunition for the French Forces libres, partially ransacked the premises. Restorations began in the late 19th century, then in the 1980s by Lyonnel and Jeanne de Lastic.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1984, the castle preserves archives dating from 1310 and houses a room called "Louis XIV", where Philip IV the Bel would have stayed. Jean-Albert de Lastic, nephew of the Countess of Ségur, would have inspired A good little devil. Since 1983, the site has been visiting and hosting private events. In 2015, he received the Grand Trophy of the most beautiful restoration, rewarding his preservation work.

The architecture combines medieval elements ( vaulted rooms, quadrangular dungeon) and classical additions ( monumental staircase, stone fireplaces). The dovecote and garden, rebuilt in the eighteenth century, complete the whole. The facades, pierced with sill windows, illustrate the transformations of the 17th and 18th centuries. The castle still commands the valley, a symbol of a family heritage that has been uninterrupted for six centuries.

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