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Origin and history

The castle of Geniez, located in Sauliac-sur-Célé in the Lot, has its origins in the 15th century, although a mâchicoulis tower incorporated into the western house could go back to the 13th century, linked to the family of Cardaillac. The first written mention certain date from 1459-1461, during a trial between Jean Cornavy and Antoine Geniez, seigneur of a borie (fortified estate) including rights on the Célé River. In 1573 the Geniez, a Protestant family during the religious wars, suffered the capture of the castle by Catholics, followed by the imprisonment and the alleged murder of Gilbert I of Geniez in Cahors. The estate, ruined, was sold in 1576 to Pierre de Peyronnenc, then remodeled in the 17th century by the Viguier de Fraust.

In the 18th century, Jacques Salgues, a bourgeois notary of Sauliac, acquired the castle in 1748 and modernized it: large windows with segmental arches, attic, and a loggia opened on a baluster terrace towards the Célé. The fief, transformed into a farm, was abandoned in 1943 after the death of its last resident. Repurchased in 1970 by the heirs Salgues de Genies, it has been the subject of continuous restorations. The mill, which was established, destroyed in 1778 and rebuilt, ceased operations around 1935; its mechanisms (cuves, rudders) partially remain. Ranked Historic Monument in 1995, the ensemble also includes a pigeon and hemp pond.

The feudal origins of the castle remain debated: if Abbé Foissac evokes a donation of 1234 (or 1340) by the Cardaillacs, Edmond Albe rather links the lineage to Geniès de la Roque, a knight cited in 1257. The Geniez, vassals of the abbots of Marcilhac — where they had a funeral chapel — turned into Protestantism in the 16th century. Their opposition to Catholics, illustrated by the letters of Claude de Gontaut-Biron (1569) denouncing their abuses, culminated with the partial destruction of the castle in 1573. Subsequent architectural transformations (XVIII-XIX centuries) partially erase its original defensive character, while preserving medieval elements such as the tower.

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