Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Penne, built from the Merovingian period (mentioned in 825 during a visit to Pépin d'Aquitaine), became a strategic fief in the 12th century. Built on a rocky spur overlooking Aveyron, it controls the valley and forest of Gresigne, north of Toulouse. His lords, like Geoffroi in 1096, took part in the crusades, and the castrum passed under the influence of the Counts of Toulouse after 1176, before being contested during the Albigois Crusade.

During the crusade against the Cathars (1208–129), the castle, held by heretical lords, was besieged twice by Simon de Montfort and then Amaury de Montfort. Despite his surrender in 1223, he was taken over by the Cathars before finally being ceded to the king of France in 1229, then confirmed as royal possession in 1271 after the death of Alphonse de Poitiers. The site, reinforced in the 13th century, even houses the Comtale archives of Toulouse.

During the Hundred Years War (14th-15th centuries), the castle changed hands several times: taken by the English in 1365 under Mongat, taken over by the French in 1374, then reoccupied by the English until 1451. Its decline begins with modern artillery. Dismantled in 1586, it remains in ruins 420 years before being bought in 1980 and restored since 2006 by architect Axel Letellier. Ranked a historic monument in 1902, it reopened to the public in 2010.

The site consists of a dungeon surrounded by an irregular enclosure, a two tower (XIIIth and 14th centuries) flaned chestnut, and a bassyard. The remains, including archeries and an assumer, testify to its defensive role. The village developed at the foot of the piton, in a meander of Aveyron, on the northern edge of the forest of Gresigne.

The restoration works (2009–2011), partly financed by the Occitanie region and the Tarn department, aim to preserve the 3,500 m2 of ruins. The annual budget of €80 000 helps stabilize structures, while highlighting a heritage linked to the tumultuous history of Quercy, between heresy, Franco-English conflicts and secular abandonment.

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