Monbalen Castle dans le Lot-et-Garonne

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Origin and history

Monbalen Castle, located in the ancient village of Monbalen (Lot-et-Garonne), finds its origins in the 13th century as a defensive stronghold in the strategic valley of the Masse d'Agen, a tributary of the Garonne. Integrated into a network of co-seigneuries with the castles of Fauguerolles, Vitrac and Bajamont, he monitored a vital axis between Agen and the Pays de Serres, a region marked by the conflicts of the Hundred Years War and the Wars of Religion. Its location also overlooked an essential source for local populations, attested from Prehistory by nomadic traces at the so-called Bulit.

The first written mention of the "Fort" of Monbalen dates back to 1259, when the families of Fauguerolles and Monfabès paid tribute to the Count of Toulouse for their shared seigneuries. This fort, probably a square tower surrounded by enclosures, was destroyed in 1353 during an attack carried out by the troops of John Armagnac. The texts of the jurades of Agen confirm its demolition, although a later chronicle evokes a possible reconstruction before 1386. In the 15th century, the seigneury passed to the Durfort, the local noble family, which rebuilt the castle in its present form, with a Gothic vaulted entrance and medieval cellars.

In the 18th century, the estate was radically remodelled by the Melet family, who resided there and added agricultural elements, such as a U-house. In 1680, Guyonnet had previously obtained the right to hold a weekly market there, attesting to its economic role. The chapel, an ancient watchtower transformed into a dovecote, and the vaulted cellars (including a kitchen with bread oven) illustrate the successive strata of use: defense, seigneurial habitat, and then farm. A fire in 1811 partially destroyed the buildings, leading to the construction of the current barn.

The castle remains a private property until 2017, the date of its acquisition by the association La Maison Forte, which makes it a third place dedicated to ecological and social transitions. The gardens, once vineyards and orchards of plum trees (until the 1980s), now host permaculture projects. The plum shed, built in 1930 with its drying chimneys, recalls recent agricultural activity. The ensemble, classified as a local historic monument, now embodies a living heritage, between medieval memory and contemporary innovation.

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