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Origin and history

Villaret Castle is an ancient feudal castle built in the 12th century on the town of Allenc in Lozère. Originally, it belonged to the Barons of the Tournel, one of the eight baronies of the Gevaudan. Its construction met a practical need: the distance from the parish church of Allenc justified the creation of a castral chapel, as evidenced by a request addressed to the bishop of Mende at the end of the 12th century.

The castle is inseparable from the family of Villaret, two members of which marked the history: Guillaume de Villaret, 24th Grand Master of Hospitallers of Saint-Jean-de-Jérusalem, and his nephew Foulques, his successor, both born between his walls. In the 16th century, the wars of Religion ravaged much of the building, already weakened by the forced sale in 1561 by John II of Villaret, ruined, to John Leblanc, royal judge of Nîmes and Beaucaire.

The tower, the only vestige, changed hands several times: acquired in 1875 by the Reversat family, it was returned in 1973 to the descendants of Villaret, before being classified as a historical monument in 1979. Since 1993, it has been in the centre of the Villaret Valley Park, created by Jacqueline and Guillaume Sonnet, and hosts annual exhibitions, thus perpetuating its cultural role.

Today, the site combines heritage and nature, integrated into the nature park of the Villaret Valley. The tower, a symbol of a turbulent feudal past, embodies both the memory of hospital knights and the transformations of a territory marked by religious conflicts and social change.

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