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Origin and history

The castle of Calmont d'Olt, perched at 535 meters above sea level on a basaltic dyke, overlooks the Lot Valley and the town of Espalion. Its name, of pre-Indo-European origin (calm-), refers to a bare height, while "D'Olt" (Occitan name of the Lot) distinguishes it from other Calmont in Aveyron or Haute-Garonne. This strategic site controlled the Toulouse-Rodez-Lyon trade route and the crossing of the Lot towards Aubrac.

First mentioned in 883 as aice Calvomontensis, it was then the defensive pole of a Carolingian vigerie. The seigneurial family of the Calmont d'Olt, which emerged from the Carolingian administration, died in 1297 with Raimond, bishop of Rodez. The castle, adapted to military progress between the 11th and 15th centuries, saw its low enclosure reinforced by eight bastions during the Hundred Years War (15th century). After this period, it was gradually abandoned in the 17th century for more comfortable residences in the valley.

The castle changed hands several times, passing from the Calmont d'Olt to the Pelet families (1298), Castelnau (1315), then Caylus (1395). These lords, often involved in regional conflicts, receive tolls and play a key role in the establishment of local institutions such as the hospital of Aubrac or Bonneval Abbey. During the Hundred Years' War, Calmont d'Olt was a strategic issue: occupied by the English in 1360, taken over by Louis d'Anjou in 1369, then ransacked by roadmen in 1364. In the 16th century, the Castelnau-Clermont-Lodève inherited it, but the castle declined after 1621, the date of the assassination of Alexandre de Castelnau-Clermont in Espalion.

From the 17th century onwards, the castle was ruined for lack of maintenance. It was partially restored in the 19th century, then classified as a historical monument in 1992 after its acquisition in 1987 by Thierry Plume. Archaeological excavations in 2006 reveal Romanesque elements (XI-XII centuries), such as a keystone and a triple archature, confirming its early medieval origin. Today, the site is managed by an association and offers animations on the Polish and medieval life, with reconstitutions of war machines.

Architecturally, the castle includes a high enclosure with an an millet dungeon, a house body, two towers, and a 15th century low enclosure flanked by eight towers open to the throat. There is only one wall in the castral chapel. The site, registered in 1943, illustrates the evolution of the fortifications of the Rouergue, between military vocation, seigneurial symbol and witness to the conflicts that marked the region.

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