Château de Belcastel
Encyclopedia
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in the village and commune of Belcastel
Belcastel, Aveyron
Belcastel is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France.The village is medieval in character, with cobbled streets and lauze-roofed houses. The bulk of the village and the castle are situated on the steep North bank of the Aveyron river...
, on the north bank of the Aveyron River
Aveyron River
The Aveyron is a 291 km long river in southern France, right tributary of the Tarn River. It rises in the southern Massif Central, near Sévérac-le-Château....
, downstream from Rodez
Rodez
Rodez is a town and commune in southern France, in the Aveyron department, of which it is the capital. Its inhabitants are called Ruthénois.-History:Existing from at least the 5th century BC, Rodez was founded by the Celts...
in the Aveyron
Aveyron
Aveyron is a département in southern France named after the Aveyron River.- History :Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790....
département of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The oldest part of the Chateau was constructed in the 9th century, and it grew at the hands of the Belcastel family. Later, for many decades, it was the seat of the famed Saunhac family.
The Château de Belcastel was officially declared a historic monument by the French Ministry of Culture in 1928. The famous French architect Fernand Pouillon (1912-1986) discovered the castle in ruins in 1974. Pouillon decided to reconstruct the fortress, which had been abandoned since at least the 17th century. Pouillon himself undertook the restoration by hand, along with the help of a dozen Algerian stonemasons, and 10 stained-glass experts. The work lasted only 8 years and called for great courage from him and his colleagues, due to the size of the undertaking, the château's dangerous location, and the fact that no machines were used in the daring reconstruction.
Pouillon also undertook the restoration of the village, which is now recognised with the award of the title of "Un des plus beaux villages de France" ("One of the most beautiful villages in France").
Today, the castle is owned by a young American couple, animation art gallery owners in New York, who continue to open the site to the public from early April to mid-November. The castle has both permanent and temporary exhibitions of animation, illustration, and fine art.
The Château de Belcastel is one of a group of 23 castles in Aveyron which have joined together to provide a tourist itinerary as La Route des Seigneurs du Rouergue.