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Origin and history

The castle of Aynac, located in the Lot in Occitanie, has its origins in the Middle Ages in the form of a very modest, according to oral tradition. At the beginning of the 16th century, Jacquette de Ginouilhac, wife of Annet de Turenne of Aynac (grand-grandson bastard of Raimond de Turenne), built the current building. The Renaissance style gradually replaces the defensive elements (doves, drawbridge) with sumptuous interior decorations and towers with domes "to the imperial" in the 16th and 17th centuries. The castle was abandoned in the 18th century, then looted during the Revolution, losing its archives and orangery.

In the 19th century, the castle experienced a renaissance thanks to Elizabeth de Wagram, wife of Stephen-Guy de Turenne of Aynac in 1875. Passionate about the place, she undertook important restorations, including the addition of a bas-relief carved by Gustave Deloye at the entrance to the dungeon. In 1934, workers discovered large human bones under a millennia old park, feeding a local legend linking Aynac to the biblical giant Anaq. The castle changed hands several times before being bought by the commune in 1973, then sold in 2015 to Laurent Battut, a car driver.

Architecturally, the castle consists of a six-storey dungeon framed by two houses, all asymmetrical, suggesting a construction on a primitive building. Four crenellated round towers, topped by domes, and a lauze roof characterize its exterior appearance. Inside, two living rooms on the first floor preserve painted French ceilings (antique divinities, landscapes, biblical scenes) and 17th century carved chimneys, including a stone inlaid with marble decorated with sirens and marine monsters. The mystery of the initials "DFC" engraved on the walls (partly attributed to Flotard de Turenne and his wife Claude) adds to his historical charm.

The estate extends over a park of eight hectares, vestige of a classic garden whose orangery was destroyed during the Revolution. An underground passage, now blocked, would once link the castle to the village church, located 300 metres away. Since its acquisition by Laurent Battut, the castle has hosted car events such as Rallye Castine and the Aynac Motor Festival, while maintaining its status as a protected Historic Monument since 1988.

The seigneury of Aynac, held from the 14th century by the family of Lavergne, passed to the Turenne d'Aynac via Hector de Turenne (natural son of the Viscount Raymond VIII de Beaufort) in 1399. The line, including figures such as Galiot de Genouillac (great artillery master of François I), marks the history of the castle as far as Louise de Turenne, the last descendant to live before its sale in 1937. The missing archives, burned during the Revolution, leave uncertainties over certain periods, including its medieval origins.

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