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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of Montaigut, built from the 10th century as a guard tower on a rocky spur, protected Saint-Affrique from attacks from the south. Built on a Merovingian necropolis identified in 1971, it is mentioned for the first time in 996 in Gellone's cartular. His lords, such as the Caylus and Bernard d'Olargues (13th century), also financed Sylvanes Abbey. The site, strategic, combined dungeon, wall of enclosure and ditch cut into the rock.

In the 15th century, the Blanc family radically transformed the castle: expansion of the spaces, addition of schauguettes, Gothic vaults, doors in a braid, and chimneys reflecting the residential comfort of the period. The defensive system (mâchicoulis) is preserved, but the castle becomes a seigneurial home. After moving to the lords of Annat (1596), then to Jean de Rouvelet (1670), he added gypsums and dismantled the defences in the 17th century, replacing the roofs with lauzes. The castle also houses a prison, witness to its judicial role.

Abandoned in the 19th century, the castle served as a refuge for peasants before falling into ruin (partial collapse in 1965). Saved in 1968 by the association Les Amis du château de Montaigut, it is the subject of a major restoration (partial reconstruction, consolidation of the walls) and is registered with the Historical Monuments in 1987. Since 1989, it has been hosting cultural activities and visiting itself, highlighting its spiral staircase, vaulted rooms, and 19th century forge.

The architecture mixes medieval elements (dungeon at 7 levels, tank dug in the rock) and Renaissance additions (windows with lintels, foothills). The central courtyard, surrounded by 15th century commons and stables, reveals traces of different eras, such as filled bays and reopened or post-1968 reconstruction stones. The 1971 excavations confirmed its implantation on a necropolis of the High Middle Ages, highlighting its deep historical anchor.

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