The Château de Calmont d'Olt is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

situated in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, in the

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitants o ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' in the ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' of

Espalion Espalion (; oc, Espaliu) is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. Population Sights * Château de Calmont d'Olt *The Pont-Vieux (Old Bridge) is part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in Fr ...

. Perched atop a

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

dyke at an altitude of 535 m, it overlooks from 100 m the town of Espalion and the valley of the

Lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...

. It provides a panoramic view of the

Aubrac Aubrac is a small village in the southern Massif Central of France. The name is also applied to the surrounding countryside, which is properly called L'Aubrac in French. The Aubrac region has been a member of the Natura 2000 network since August 200 ...

highlands.

History

Flint fragments and a polished stone axe are evidence of occupation of the site for 5,000 years. The ''ministerium Calvomantese'' was first mentioned in 883, in documents from the Abbey at

Conques Conques (; Languedocien dialect, Languedocien: ''Concas'') is a former Communes of France, commune in the Aveyron Departments of France, department in Southern France, in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region. ...

. It has always had a military significance, commanding the road from

Rodez Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the ...

to Aubrac and, more widely, the crossing of the River Lot on the

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

route. The building of the castle was begun in the 11th century built and continued until the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

with the building of a second curtain with eight towers in 1400. Beyond this date, there was no further development. Abandoned by its owners in the 16th century, the castle fell to ruin. The castle, in its present state, is an important milestone in the history of castle building in medieval

Rouergue Rouergue (; ) is a former province of France, corresponding roughly with the modern department of Aveyron. Its historical capital is Rodez. It is bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan ...

. It bears witness to the architectural adaptations of castles to the technical progress of the

Chronology

:* ''For detailed chronology, see French Wikipedia.''

Today

Registered as a historic monument (''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'') in 1992 by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...

, in 1987 the castle was bought by Thierry Plume who gradually renovated it and had it classified in 1992. From this date, with the assistance of ''Bâtiments de France'' and the regional archaeological service and thanks to the help of volunteers working summers with the castle team, the site has little by little been reborn.

Tourism

The castle is part of the '' Route des Seigneurs du Rouergue'' (Route of the Lords of Rouergue) which groups 23 castles.Calmont d'Olt
on ''Route des Seigneurs du Rouergue'' website In 1997, it was awarded the ''Trophée du Tourisme culturel en Midi-Pyrénées'' (Trophy of cultural tourism in Midi-Pyrénées). The site highlights the theme of

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

warfare. Full-scale war machines have been reconstructed and visitors may assist in the launching of projectiles with: *

siege tower A Roman siege tower or breaching tower (or in the Middle Ages, a belfry''Castle: Stephen Biesty's Cross-Sections''. Dorling Kindersley Pub (T); 1st American edition (September 1994). Siege towers were invented in 300 BC. ) is a specialized siege ...

from the 15th century with bombards *

couillard A trebuchet (french: trébuchet) is a type of catapult that uses a long arm to throw a projectile. It was a common powerful siege engine until the advent of gunpowder. The design of a trebuchet allows it to launch projectiles of greater weigh ...

from the 15th century * trébuchet from the 14th century * pierrière from Petrus de Eboli from the 12th century * pierrière from the siege of Toulouse from the 13th century Visitors are also invited to take part in other demonstrations including

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

and making

chain mail Chain mail (properly called mail or maille but usually called chain mail or chainmail) is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh. It was in common military use between the 3rd century BC and ...

.Les animations du château
, Château de Calmont d'Olt website

References

External links