Photo : Fagairolles 34 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Sévérac-le-Château
The castle of Sévérac overlooks Sévérac d'Aveyron (formerly Sévérac-le-Château) and can be seen from far away, notably from the A75 motorway. Now in ruins, it keeps a 13th-century fortified curtain wall with towers, a chapel dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and stables.
The barons of Sévérac lost the castle at the end of the 12th century; it passed to the Caylus family, then in 1427 to the Arpajons. Louis d'Arpajon (1590-1679) modernised it with a Florentine architect and supported artists, including Cyrano de Bergerac. A large rectangular residence was restored in the second half of the 16th century, with a monumental Corinthian-style gateway opening onto the courtyard.
Listed as a historic monument in 1922 and bought by the commune in 1970, it underwent restoration campaigns between 2012 and 2019. Guided tours are offered in summer and sound-and-light shows are held in the courtyard.
