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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Castella de Saint-Sulpice, built around 1240 by Sicard Alaman, was originally a castral motte transformed into a fortified castle. In 1275, a seigneurial chapel was added, becoming today the main vestige. The site, owned by Gaston Fébus and Jean de Berry, was destroyed in 1562 during the wars of Religion by the Huguenots, after his lords had joined the Catholic party.

The already weakened fortress was finally dismantled when the Toulouse notables used its bricks to rebuild the village. The current ruins include the dungeon, the Gothic chapel and a 142-metre underground, anterior to the castle (perhaps a millennium). This network, equipped with silos and latrines, served as a refuge and warehouse, and is home to the legend of the treasure of Jeanne II de Boulogne, accused of monetary fraud in the 15th century.

The underground, used until the 17th century to make powder, was saved in 1930 after floods of the Agout. Ranked a historical monument in 1994 with the ruins of the castle, it is the largest visitable underground of the Tarn. The brick remains, such as the Gothic arches of the chapel and the dungeon's murderers, bear witness to its strategic past.

The history of the Castella ends symbolically with the Wars of Religion, but its underground, linked to figures like Jeanne de Boulogne (called the forger), continues to fuel myths and research. Today the communal property, the site offers a dive into medieval defensive architecture and local legends.

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