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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The monastic barn of Séveyrac, located in Bozouls in Aveyron, is an old outbuilding of the Cistercian Abbey of Bonneval, founded in the 12th century. This type of barn, typical of monastic farms, served both as a production centre and a fortified refuge, especially during the Hundred Years War. The monks cultivated the land there and stored the crops, while ensuring a religious and economic presence in Rouergue.

In 1165 Count Hugues de Rodez offered Séveyrac to the Bonneval Abbey, thus contributing to the expansion of his barn network in the area. In the 14th and 15th centuries, in the face of English threats, the monks strengthened the whole, adding scalables and a defensive system now partially visible. The barn, sold as a national property during the Revolution, preserves medieval elements such as a five-level tower, a domestic chapel and a courtyard surrounded by agricultural buildings.

In the 18th century, the estate was strengthened, then transformed with the addition of a pig house and a sheepfold in the 19th century. The access to the floor, initially protected by a drawbridge replaced by a staircase, illustrates the architectural evolution of the site. Registered as a historical monument in 2003, the barn also includes a monastic vegetable garden, a pool and a threshing area, testimony to its agricultural and religious past.

The set, characteristic of Cistercian barns, combines agricultural functionality and defense, reflecting the influence of order in the medieval Rouergue. The remains of the fortifications, such as the bases of the schauguettes, recall the late military adaptations, while the decorations of the 19th century evoke its post-monastic uses.

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