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Origin and history

The Brunié dovecoier is a 17th-century seigneurial building in Damiatte, Tarn. It is part of the estate of the Château de la Brunié and illustrates a typical architecture of the seigneurial privileges of the Midi de la France. Built on four stone piles decorated with collars and capitals, it stands out for its cubic brick masonry structure, topped by a pyramidal flat tile roof.

Access to the interior is by a wooden ladder, revealing 492 bolts in half moons, niches intended to house pigeons. Two openings for the volatiles and a skylight to the south complete the building. Ranked a historic monument by decree of 13 August 1990, this dovecote is now in an advanced state of disrepair, although there remains a remarkable architectural testimony of the seigneurial practices of the Ancien Régime.

In the Midi, pigeons on stilts were a seigneurial prerogative, symbolizing the exclusive right to possess pigeons, often reserved for the nobility or clergy. Isolated near the Château de la Brunié, this monument also reflects the spatial organization of rural estates, where utility dependencies were sometimes far from the main residences. Its architecture, combining bricks and stone, is characteristic of the rural buildings of the period, combining functionality and social status.

Available sources, including Wikipedia and Monumentum, highlight its heritage interest, while noting its current state of degradation. The Merimée base precisely locates it at 5714 La Brunie, 81220 Damiatte, in the Tarn department, in the Occitanie region. No information is provided on its accessibility to the public or on any restorations in progress.

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