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Origin and history

The tower of Laughnac is a square dungeon, the only vestige of the medieval castle of Laughnac, built in the 13th century and then remodeled in the 15th and 16th centuries. Located in the Lot-et-Garonne department, it was listed as a historic monument in 1950. Near the church of Saint Vincent, it dominates the village and recalls the strategic importance of the site, linked to the protection of the priory and the inhabitants.

Before the 14th century, a strong house already existed to defend the priory and the village of Laugnac. Documents attest to the presence of a castle as early as 1310, owned by local lords such as Bernard de Laughnac, squire on the senechalite d'Agenais. The seigneury changed hands after conflicts, especially with the Montpezat, an influential family in Agenais. The current remains, including a quadrangular enclosure and a three-storey tower, date mainly from the 15th century, when the castle was rebuilt by Alain de Montpezat for his son François.

The castle experienced violent episodes during the Wars of Religion. In 1560 Antoine de Montpezat, who had become a Protestant, briefly seized it before being disinherited. The site was resumed several times between 1565 and 1576, requiring repairs after each conflict. Francis II of Montpezat, involved in the assassination of the Duke of Guise in 1588, was killed in combat in 1590. The castle was restored by peace, Honorat de Montpezat, but it was gradually abandoned in the 17th century, especially after a fire caused by lightning in 1728.

In the 19th century, the tower was preserved while other parts of the castle, such as the Recipe (the fifteenth century supply store), were acquired by the municipality or transformed. Today, the square tower, with its gun murderers, its spiral staircase and its 15th century chimneys, remains an architectural testimony to the conflicts and reconstructions that marked the Agenesis.

The Laugnac tower also illustrates the social and military transformations of the region: first a place of seigneurial defense, it became a symbol of religious struggles before falling into disuse. Its inscription to historical monuments in 1950 allowed its conservation, offering an overview of the turbulent history of southwestern France.

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