Château de Bonaguil

The Château de Bonaguil is in Saint-Front-sur-Lémance, in the north-east of Lot-et-Garonne, near Fumel. It is perched on a rocky spur between the valleys of the Thèze and the Lémance. A first fortress existed in the thirteenth century, but the present appearance owes mostly to Bérenger de Roquefeuil, who inherited it in 1483 and spent about thirty years transforming it, until around 1510.

The castle is remarkable because it was designed at a time when artillery was upsetting siege warfare. It has 104 firing positions for firearms, casemates, barbicans and moats: the whole combines medieval defence and the first answers to cannon. Stripped of its roofs during the Revolution, it nevertheless remained very well preserved.

Owned by the commune of Fumel since 1860, it is a listed historic monument (1914, 1963) and receives about 67,000 visitors a year. A theatre festival has been held there every summer since 1962. The towers, ramparts and courtyard can be visited, with views over the wooded countryside around.

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