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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The Tuile Gate, also known as the Tuile Gate, is an ancient fortified gate located in Saint-Flour, Cantal department. Its name derives from the term Tuel (or Tile), meaning a channel used to drain water or sewer. Built between the 14th and 15th centuries, it constituted the main access to the medieval city, concentrating both commercial traffic and roads from the Midi. This door also played a strategic role in the defensive system of Saint-Flour, as evidenced by the reconstructions carried out after the attacks suffered between 1357 and 1365, adapted to the military norms of the time.

In 1437, the Thuile Gate marked local history by welcoming Charles VII's solemn entrance into the city. This royal passage emphasized its symbolic and practical importance, since it also housed a major sewer evacuating the waters under its arch. The gate was classified as historical monuments by order of 19 May 1927, recognizing its heritage value linked to its military architecture and its role in medieval urban planning.

Beyond its defensive function, the Thuile Gate illustrates the ingenuity of medieval hydraulics, where urban infrastructure and water management combined. The converging roads and commercial activity which concentrated on them made it a key point of the economic and social life of Saint-Flour, reflecting the organization of the fortified cities of the medieval Auvergne.

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