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Origin and history

The castle of Puy-Launay, located in Linac in the Lot, is mentioned from the thirteenth century under the name "Puech Léones". Originally he belonged to the land of the Abbey of Aurillac and was held by the Guignabert family in 1279. The site, renamed "Puech Launes" in 1504, was transformed into a castle by the Narbonnes from the 15th century, incorporating the remains of a 12th or 13th century seigneurial tower.

In the 15th century, the seigneury passed from Rabassier to Narbonnes through the marriage of Marie Rabassier to Eustache de Narbonnes in 1438. Their descendant, Eustache II, was the lord in 1504. In 1602, Jean de Narbonnès died without an heir, triggering an estate dispute resolved in 1607 for the benefit of Balthasard de Cadrieu, a nephew by covenant. The castle then changed hands several times: sold in 1658 to Guillaume de Dumas, then passed on to Bournazel, Buisson, and Durfort-Boissières before being acquired in 1786 by Étienne de Palhasse.

The building, quadrangular and flanked by two round towers (arised to the Revolution), preserves defensive elements such as a round road and mâchicoulis. The primitive dungeon, buried in basements, dates from the 12th or 13th century. Inside, a large room on the first floor features 19th-century floral paintings, while a room called "Francis I" has a 17th-century ceiling. The castle, inscribed in the Historical Monuments in 1989, illustrates the architectural and social evolution of a Quercynian seigneury.

In the 17th century, two of the five towers of the medieval enclosure were reassigned: one in a dovecote, the other in a chapel. The estate, fragmented after 1812, was reduced to a 2-hectare park in 1834 when it was sold to Pierre Bel. The protected elements include facades, roofs, and several rooms with painted decorations, reflecting its rich past.

Historical sources, such as the counts of 1504 or the notarial acts of the seventeenth century, reveal its strategic and economic importance. Studyed by local historians (Lartigaut, Cadiergues), the castle embodies the transformations of a medieval fortress into a seigneurial residence and then into private property.

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