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Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Saint-Hippolyte, located on a site frequented since Antiquity (a Roman way crossed the estate), is attested for the first time in 1313 in the will of Mabelia de Najac, widow of Pons de Monestiés. This document marks the first written trace of the castle, then held by the local lords. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the seigneury passed into the hands of the families Paulin de Monestiés and Mirabel, co-teachers of the region. Traces of ancient reconstructions suggest damage sustained during the Hundred Years War, reflecting the disturbances of this period.

During the religious wars, the castle played a strategic role: on 23 July 1595, it was besieged and taken by Anne de Lévis, Duke of Ventadour, at the expense of Catholics. The transmission of the seigneury is often done by women, as in 1618, when the succession of Antoinette de Caraman introduced Géraud Lebrun, a rich size collector. His fortune enabled his descendants to gain access to prestigious offices in the Toulouse Parliament and to unite with influential families. In the 18th century, the Castelpers, who became lords by covenant, sold the castle in 1786 to Pierre Viala for 103,000 pounds. The estate, unoccupied, was looted in 1792 and partially acquired in 1803 by Jean Cuq, a local innkeeper.

In the 19th century, the Viscount Joseph Decazes, former prefect of Albi, acquired the castle in 1837 and undertook important transformations to soften its austere appearance. The works of the 17th (Lebrun era) and 19th centuries (Decazes era) modernize the place, although its isolation sometimes makes it neglected. In 1897 Guy de Palaminy, the last descendant of the Decazes, tried unsuccessfully to set up a horse farm there before selling it to Émile Falgueyrettes, trading in Carmaux and local political figure (candidate against Jean Jaurès in 1910 and 1914). Today, the castle belongs to a family SCI descendant of the Falgueyrettes.

Architecturally, the castle forms a quadrilateral flanked by towers at the corners, with an inner courtyard surrounded by a house, outbuildings, and a chapel. The latter, now a parish church, has been listed as historical monuments since 1927. The court would have served as a cemetery before being moved in the 19th century by Decazes. Details such as modified gemini windows or cannons remind of its defensive past, while the regularity of the facades testify to subsequent changes.

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