Cabrerets (; Languedocien: ''Crabairet'') is a commune in the Lot department in southwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. The village of Cabrerets derives its name from ''cabre'', meaning

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of ...

in the

Occitan language Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valle ...

Population

Geography

The village lies at the confluence of the rivers Sagne and Célé, at the foot of the Rochecourbe cliffs. The village also forms part of the

pilgrimage route A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

for those travelling to Santiago de Compostella and is the final stop before

Cahors Cahors (; oc, Caors ) is a commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitanie Region. The main city of the Lot department and the historical center of the Que ...

History

The overhanging cliffs that dominate the town are home to a ruined castle, built by the English and also known as the ''château du diable'' ("devil's castle"). The castle was first mentioned in a document dating from 1259, and was the medieval home of the lords of Barsac. In 1380, during the

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

, it fell into the hands of a force from

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Januar ...

controlled by the English. It was liberated ten years later by Jean d'Hébrard, lord of Saint-Sulpice, who subsequently ordered its demolition. The nearby Pech Merle cave is home to

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

cave painting In archaeology, Cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin, and the oldest known are more than 40,00 ...

s, being one of the few prehistoric sites in France which remain open to the general public. The

Château de Cabrerets The Château de Cabrerets is a castle in the ''commune'' of Cabrerets in the Lot ''département'' of France. It has been listed since 1996 as a ''monument historique'' by the French Ministry of Culture. See also *List of castles in France This i ...

has been listed since 1996 as a '' monument historique'' 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 ...

. Construction began in the early years of the 16th century.