Château de Cabrerets: A Historic Château in France
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.3
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- French
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Castle
On this page5 sections
History
Château de Cabrerets is a historic château in France, in the commune of Cabrerets in the Lot department. Its history began with a castle built in the thirteenth century, while the present building emerged from rebuilding undertaken by the Gontaut family from the sixteenth into the seventeenth century. The château stands in Quercy, a historic province of southwestern France corresponding broadly to the modern Lot department and adjoining areas.
Medieval Origins and Noble Ownership
The first castle belonged to the Barasc family. From the second half of the fifteenth century, ownership passed to the Cardaillac family. The Gontaut family, who became lords of Cabrerets, rebuilt the château during the sixteenth century, with the construction phase continuing into the seventeenth century.
The Gontaut Family and the Revolution
Among the château’s owners was Charles de Gontaut-Biron, a marshal and duke who was initially a friend of Henry IV, King of France from 1589 to 1610. He later became a traitor to the king. During the eighteenth century, the Gontaut family no longer lived in Quercy and instead resided at Château de Biron in Dordogne.
Armand-Louis de Gontaut, Duke of Lauzun and lord of Cabrerets, represented Quercy in the States-General, the representative assembly of France’s three traditional social orders, when it was convened during the French Revolution in 1789. The Revolution was the political upheaval that abolished the French monarchy and led to the establishment of the Republic. Accused of conspiring against the Republic, Armand-Louis was beheaded on 31 December 1793. His wife, Amélie, was guillotined a year later.
Sale and Restoration
The château was sold as national property, meaning property confiscated or placed for sale by the revolutionary state. Joachim Murat, a French military commander who became King of Naples from 1808 to 1815, considered purchasing it as a gift for his brother André, but the plan was never completed.
Around 1850, Count Murat, a deputy for the Lot, and members of his family gradually acquired the separate shares of the château and its estate. They undertook its restoration, and the current owner, Philippe Sahut d’Izarn, is descended from this family. The family history also connects the château with Antoinette Murat, Joachim Murat’s sister, who married Jean Bonafous in 1784. Bonafous owned Château de Crabillé and was later appointed Murat’s aide-de-camp, a military officer serving as a senior commander’s personal assistant.
Château de Cabrerets has been classified as a French historic monument since 28 November 1996. This status provides legal heritage protection for a site or structure recognized by the French state for its historical or architectural importance.
Remains
The château’s buildings are arranged around a large courtyard, forming the principal surviving spatial organization of the complex. This courtyard-centered layout belongs to the château rebuilt under the Gontaut family from the sixteenth century and continued into the following century. The later restoration undertaken by the Murat family around 1850 contributed to the preservation of the buildings and estate in their present form.
