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Origin and history

Fontanges Castle, located in Onet-le-Château in the department of Aveyron, is a house built in the late sixteenth century. It stands on a terrace surrounded by walls, below Rodez, along the road leading to the Marcillac valley. Its architecture reflects a dual vocation: defensive, with firemouths visible in the towers, and residential, with a house extended by a gallery and gardens decorated with water games.

Before the 16th century, the seigneury of Fontanges belonged from 1280 to the Balaguier family, a powerful line also possessing the castles of Condat and Montsalès. The present monument was entirely rebuilt between 1590 and 1597, with a large tower erected in 1590, a second in 1591, and the house completed in 1597. Subsequent changes, such as the addition of a cabinet between the house and the gallery, as well as major changes at the end of the 19th century, altered its original appearance.

During the French Revolution, the castle was sold as a national property on 11 March 1791. Over the centuries, its functions have evolved: farming in the north, seigneurial residence, and then transformation into a hotel establishment in the 1970s. Inside, the ground floor housed the commons and a hydraulic system for the gardens, while the floor had trompe-l'oeil paintings and richly decorated ceilings, visually extending the exterior spaces.

Access to the castle was via two gates, leading to a courtyard where a converging double-fly staircase served the central room of the house. The northern part, dedicated to agriculture, contrasted with the aristocratic character of reception spaces and rooms. The remains of the towers and the defensive arrangements recall its medieval origin, although its reconstruction in the Renaissance made it a more comfortable residence, adapted to the uses of modern times.

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