En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de Peyrelade, in the commune of Rivière-sur-Tarn, is a former fortified castle of the 11th–12th centuries built on a rocky spur at the entrance to the Gorges du Tarn. Its enclosure wall, more than 250 metres long, 10 metres high and up to 2.1 metres thick, protected several compounds according to a triple-wall system; the keep, 50 metres high, was reached by a drawbridge and housed an oven, a cistern and a belfry whose bell sounded the alarm. The site was held in co-lordship, sometimes by as many as four families at once (Roquefeuil, Sévérac, Henry, Guitard, Ricard, then Brunel, Pélamourgue and Puel), from the 11th to the 19th century. Dismantled on Richelieu's orders in 1663, the castle has been excavated and restored since 1977 on the initiative of Pierre Bloy. Owned by the commune, the ruins are open to visitors from May to September and are part of the Route des Seigneurs du Rouergue circuit.