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Origin and history

The castle of Mauriac, located in Senouillac in the Tarn (Occitanie), finds its origin in the 13th century under the impulse of Guiriaudus de Mauricius, probably linked to the Templars. Its construction continued in the 14th and 15th centuries, enriched by the income of pastel, this tinctorial plant that made the fortune of the country of Cocagne. The castle then adopts a rectangular plan around a courtyard of 400 m2, flanked by crenellated towers and sled windows, reflecting its dual defensive and residential role. Gunners and murderers bear witness to its adaptation to firearms, while carved decorations (cariates, monumental chimneys) betray a will of ostentation.

In the 16th century, the castle became an issue of the Wars of Religion. Its owner, Bertrand de Rabastens (protestant), saw the round path partially destroyed by Catholics in 1586. In 1595, the Duke of Joyeuse laid siege and damaged the southeast, leaving a breach never rebuilt. The Rabastens family, allied with the Arpajon by the marriage of Jacques de Rabastens with Marie d'Arpajon in 1526, then modified the original project: the west wing was dropped, and a loggia replaced the round path in the 17th century, marking its evolution towards a more residential home. Pastel dryers, anchored to the southern wall, remind the local economy.

Spared by the Revolution despite an order of dismantling in 1794, the castle was transformed into a farm after the wars. Since 1962, painter Bernard Bistes has owned it and undertook an ambitious restoration, reinventing its interiors in an artist's house. The facades and roofs have been protected since 1972 (registration in the Historic Monuments). Today, the castle combines medieval vestiges (obsoletes, mâchicoulis) and contemporary creations, while overlooking the Saudron valley, in the heart of the Gaillac vineyards.

The architecture of the castle reveals distinct construction campaigns: the southwest corner (XIVth century) with its arches in braid, the west wing redesigned in the 16th century, and the residential developments of the 17th and 20th centuries. The materials — carved stone, painted in false apparatus, ancient tiles — and the defensive systems (herse, heavy) illustrate its evolution. The traces of three times on the southern wall attest to the successive adaptations, while the guard room (wood pillars, original tiled) and the kitchen (caryatide-carried) preserve their medieval atmosphere.

The castle of Mauriac also embodies the religious tensions of the region: Protestant bastion in the sixteenth century, it temporarily houses a Catholic garrison in 1586. Its history blends with that of the local noble families (Rabastens, Arpajon, Raimond) and the pastel economy, before becoming a symbol of the heritage renaissance thanks to Bernard Bistes. The protected elements (facades, roofs) and the remains such as the breach or oblivions make this a rare testimony of the Templar castles transformed into seigneurial residences.

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