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Origin and history

The castle of Cazilhac, located on the Via Tolosane leading to Compostela, finds its origins in a strong house built by the monks of Joncels Abbey between the 12th and 13th century. This strategic site, overlooking the Orb Valley, was used to monitor and develop wine-growing lands. Sources mention a confused occupation, possibly linked to the agricultural development by Benedictines, before the ravages of the Hundred Years' War in 1370 and plague outbreaks (1348, 1465).

In 1512, the Peyrots family acquired Cazilhac and began its reconstruction in the sixteenth century, raising the estate to the rank of seigneury. The castle, however, was subjected to the violence of the wars of religion: in 1627 it was razed by order of the Duke of Montmorency, governor of Languedoc. The Peyrottes rebuilt it immediately and kept it until the Revolution, when the hamlet was attached to Camplong (1790), then to Saint-Martin-d-Orb (1844, future Le Bousquet-d-Orb).

In the 19th century, economist Michel Chevalier (1806–79) became owner and modernized the estate, notably by building an aqueduct around 1851 to irrigate the land and feed the gardens. Its technical innovations, such as pumps raising 2,500 litres of water per minute, mark a break with traditional use. At his death, his son-in-law Paul Leroy-Beaulieu inherited the castle, perpetuating his wine-growing and intellectual heritage linked to Saint-Simonism.

The building, inscribed in the historic monuments in 1987 for its facades, roofs and terraces, preserves traces of its defensive past: square towers, murderous canonies, and medieval bases. The terraced gardens, open to the visit, offer a wide view of the valley, while the interior houses a Louis XVI lounge and memories of Michel Chevalier. Aqueduct, listed in the General Inventory, bears witness to the agricultural transformations of the 19th century.

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