Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The monastic barn of Ruffepeyre, located in Mayran in Aveyron, dates from the late 13th or early 14th century. This building was an outbuilding of the Cistercian Abbey of Bonnecombe, founded in 1167 by the Count of Toulouse. The abbey, quickly equipped with barns up to Albigeois, used Ruffepeyre's for wine production, demonstrating its economic role in the region.

Sold as a national property in 1792, the barn was then converted into an agricultural building and then a forge from 1925. The tower, the main vestige of the ensemble, is built of sandstone and gneiss. It had four levels: the first two were used as storage, while the third, reserved for housing, houses a rare, relatively well-preserved, secular mural. This site illustrates medieval monastic architecture and its adaptation to post-revolutionary uses.

Ranked under the title of historical monuments by order of 18 February 2002, the barn of Ruffepeyre includes in its protection the old shed (which remains a cellar and walls), the courtyard and the well. Its inscription underlines its heritage importance, both for its Cistercian history and for its preserved architectural elements, such as the tower and its interior decorations.

The precise location of the barn at 5348 Place du Forgeron in Mayran is documented in the Mérimée base. The site, now closed to the visit according to available sources, remains a significant testimony of the influence of Cistercian abbeys in the Rouergue and their agricultural and wine heritage.

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