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Origin and history

The Episcopal Palace of Castres finds its origins in the foundation of a monastery by Benoît d'Aniane under Charlemagne, attached in 1074 to the Abbey of Saint-Victor of Marseille. The initial buildings, located between the present palace and St.Benoît Cathedral, included a tower of the ramparts, the only remaining vestige after the partial destruction during the Revolution. The city became a bishopric in 1317 under Pope John XXII, and the first episcopal palace, commanded by Bishop Deodat of Séverac, was built before being abandoned around 1670.

The construction of the present palace began in 1666 under the impetus of Bishop Michel de Tuboeuf, with plans drawn by Jules Hardouin-Mansart. Inaugurated in 1673, he was part of a vast renovation project including the restoration of Saint-Benoît Cathedral and the creation of gardens by André Le Nôtre. The palace, of classic style, has a long facade of 26 windows, a peristyle, and incorporates the tower Saint-Benoît, medieval vestige of the 9th century.

After the suppression of the bishopric in 1801, the palace became the city hall and housed a museum of natural history in 1840. In the 21st century, it hosted the Goya Museum, which was expanded in 2023 after the transfer of municipal services. Ranked a historic monument in 1927 and 1987, it bears witness to Castres' architectural and political transformations, from the wars of Religion to the secularization of ecclesiastical property.

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