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Origin and history

The castle of Nègrepelisse, located in the Tarn-et-Garonne region of Occitanie, is a royal building dating from the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, marking the third stage of the implantation of Capeti power in the Aveyron valley. Its edification is in the context of the bastids founded between 1271 and 1370 to affirm the royal authority, under the impulse of the kings of France and in collaboration with the seigneurial family of Bruniquel. The site, strategically placed on a hill, replaced an older fortification linked to the founding of the city around 1074.

In the 15th century, the castle underwent modifications to adapt to military and residential developments. However, his history was marked by partial destruction, especially during the Wars of Religion: in 1622 Louis XIII razed the city and castle in retaliation for the massacre of the royal garrison by Protestants. Local archives, burned during the Revolution, allow uncertainties on certain key dates, such as that of its exact construction (1268 according to the canon Pottier, 1285 for the expert Miquel).

After the Revolution, the castle was sold in lots in 1845 and largely demolished, after the abandonment of a project to transform it into a prison. The town bought the ruins in 1850 to make it an esplanade. Between 1997 and 2001, conservation work was carried out, followed by a major rehabilitation between 2012 and 2014 to install "La Cuisine", an art and design centre designed by the RCR architectural firm. The centre, inaugurated in 2014, closed in December 2022. The site now hosts every summer the festival "Les voix au château".

Architecturally, the castle had a quadrangular plan flanked by four round towers and surrounded by ditches, typical of medieval fortresses. Today, only remains remain, including an open vaulted cellar and a 17th century retaining wall, represented in a drawing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard in 1773. This painter, invited by Count Pierre Jacques Onesyme Bergeret de Grancourt, owner of the site, immortalized the monument before its decline.

The castle has been included in the Supplementary Inventory of Historic Monuments since 26 June 1989. Preventive excavations carried out by INRAP prior to its rehabilitation allowed a better understanding of its evolution, revealing traces of the 11th century work and subsequent developments. Its history reflects the power struggles between local lords (Vicomtes de Bruniquel), abbeys (Moissac), and the crown of France, which took possession of it in 1285 under Philip III.

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