Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Saint-Alban, located in Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole en Lozère, finds its origins in the 12th century with the Barons d'Apchier. It was a strategic point on via Podiensis, the way to Santiago de Compostela. Over the centuries he passed into the hands of the Louet de Calvisson and Molette de Morangiès families, who gave him his Renaissance style in the 17th century. The castle was a gathering place during the hunt for the Bête du Gévaudan in 1764-1767, under the direction of Count Jean-François-Charles de Molette.

In 1824, the castle was converted into a psychiatric asylum under the impulse of Brother Hilarion (Joseph-Xavier Tissot), then acquired by the department of Lozère. In the 19th century, auxiliary buildings were built to accommodate patients. During the Second World War, the hospital housed resistance fighters and intellectuals such as Paul Éluard and Georges Canguilhem. In 1941, psychiatrist François Tosquelles introduced innovative methods in psychiatry. A fire in 1972 partially damaged the castle, which was later restored.

The architecture of the castle reflects its successive transformations: a partially destroyed medieval dungeon, round towers added to the 15th century, and a Renaissance facade decorated with galleries superimposed in the 17th century. The entrance gate, inspired by Serlio's treatises, and the rose arkose stencil windows bear witness to his past prestige. Inside, painted decorations from the 17th and 18th centuries remain, as well as a monumental fireplace. Ranked a historic monument in 1942, the castle now houses a psychiatric hospital and heritage collections of the department.

The chapel Saint-Pierre, classified in 2024, and the cemetery of the madmen, inscribed in 2023, recall its medical history. The castle was also linked to controversial figures, like the Count of Morangiès, accused without proof of being involved in the attacks of the Beast of Gevaudan. Despite these legends, his role in local history, between nobility, medicine and heritage, remains major.

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