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Origin and history

The Pujols Tower is one of the last remains of the fortified enclosure of Villeneuve-sur-Lot, a bastide founded in 1264 by Alphonse de Poitiers. The latter, Count of Toulouse and brother of Saint Louis, authorized the creation of the city on the banks of the Lot, after the destruction of the fortifications of Pujols, former Cathar square ravaged during the Albige Crusade. The Treaty of 1253 between the Count and the Abbey of Eysses limited the territory of the future city, while a charter of 1260 granted privileges to the first inhabitants.

The initial enclosure, probably made of earth and wood, was strengthened as conflicts continued. In the 14th century, Jean de Bourbon rebuilt the stone and brick walls, incorporating seven doors, including those of Pujols and Paris, still visible today. These square towers, surmounted by mâchicoulis and covered with four-sided roofs, served as checkpoints and defences. Their brick elevation, after the stone foundations, reflects medieval construction techniques adapted to local resources.

The Pujols Tower played a key role in the Wars of Religion and the Fronde. In 1585, Marguerite de Navarre failed to take the city, protected by its ramparts reinforced by half moons. In the 17th century, after the surrender of 1653 in front of the Earl of Harcourt, the fortifications were partially dismantled: filled ditches, towers felled, except the gates of Pujols and Paris, classified as historical monuments in 1901. Their restoration at the beginning of the twentieth century preserved this testimony of medieval defensive urbanism.

The architecture of the tower combines robustness and symbolism. The vaulted passage, the rooms illuminated by geminied berries, and the crenelated round path illustrate a design that is both practical and ostentatious. In the 19th century, the tower housed the municipal clock, whose ringing was housed in an added campanile. Today, it embodies the heritage of the bastids, these new cities of the Middle Ages designed to reconcile trade, security and power.

Historical sources, such as Fernand de Mazet's work, highlight the strategic importance of Villeneuve-sur-Lot, a crossroads between Agen, Périgueux and Bordeaux. Repeated conflicts (the Hundred Years War, the Wars of Religion) marked its evolution, gradually transforming the enclosure into an obsolete obstacle. The 1792 drawing reveals already degraded ramparts, replaced by houses, while the two surviving towers recall the golden age of a bastion city of Guyenne.

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