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Origin and history

The former hospital of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, now called Daura House, is a historical monument dating back to the 13th and 15th centuries. This building, formerly run by the city's consuls, served as a hospital facility before being attached to the General Hospital of Cahors in 1721. Its structure is distinguished by two floors, the second of which is illuminated by six typical 13th century columnette bays, while a trilobed bay pierces the corner of the first floor. Part of the building features wooden panels, with a corbelled floor and carved beams ends.

Inside, the first floor houses a large room called "refectory", vestige of its hospital use. The facades and roofs of the building, inscribed in the Historical Monuments since 1973, reflect its preserved medieval architecture. Although its exact location is approximate (accuracy noted 5/10), it remains a testimony of the hospital and consular history of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, in the Lot.

The monument illustrates the role of consuls in managing public institutions in the Middle Ages. These local schools, elected to administer communal affairs, supervised hospitals, often founded to accommodate the poor, the sick or the pilgrims. The reorganization of 1721, integrating this hospital with that of Cahors, is part of a gradual centralization of charitable structures under the Old Regime. Today, the Daura house retains remarkable architectural elements, such as Gothic bays and wood carvings, which bear witness to its hospitable past and the local medieval craftsmanship.

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