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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of Massaguel finds its origins in a fortified rural exploitation of the twelfth century, mentioned for the first time in 1152 as property of the lords of Dourge. In 1212, during the Albigeian Crusade, Simon IV de Montfort ravaged the region and dispossessed the lords of Massaguel, followers of Catharism. The site is rebuilt and evolves into a castle, with two enclosures of which remains a round 13th century tower.

In the 16th century, the castle passed into the hands of the family of Lautrec, then of the Nadals by marriage. In 1569, during the Wars of Religion, Protestants attacked the castle, massacred the Catholic garrison and set fire to part of the buildings. Jacques de Nadal, converted to Calvinism in 1563, made it a strong Protestant place, subject to repeated conflicts. His son, John II of Nadal, near Henri de Rohan, began work in the early seventeenth century to modernize the house, adding a vaulted gallery and a monumental Renaissance staircase.

In 1768, the castle was sold to traders Jean-Jacques and Jean Fabre, who transformed it into a marina between 1768 and 1774. The interiors are then redesigned in Louis XV and Louis XVI style, with stucco, woodwork and adorned fireplaces. During the Revolution, the Fabres were imprisoned a year and the estate confiscated, before being returned. The 18th-century layouts, such as the enfilade lounges or the gypsies representing the Four Seasons, illustrate this blissful period.

The castle, with a square plan flanked by three round towers and a square tower housing the stairway, preserves defensive elements (murderers, cannons) alongside sill windows and 18th century pierces. The Renaissance door, whose coat of arms was hammered during the Revolution, opens onto vaulted rooms and a ramp staircase. Ranked a Historic Monument in 1972 for its facades, roofs, staircases and interior decorations, it exceptionally opened to the public in 2009.

The architecture thus reflects almost six centuries of history, from medieval religious conflicts to the fascists of the Old Regime, through defensive and residential adaptations. The descendants of Fabre still own it today, perpetuating an unbroken line since the 18th century.

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