Le Château de Najac, France

Najac is one of those villages, like so many in the area, where you feel like you have stepped back in time to mediaval times.

The streets are narrow, winding and cobbled, and thanks to 'Les Bâtiments de France', all of the building are strictly controlled whenever there is any building or improvement works on them. This ensures that the villages are always coherent with the times, whilst retaining an outward appearance that reflects the rich history of the region.

The castle was built in 1253 by the villagers on the orders of Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of Saint Louis, on the site of an older castle (a square tower) built in 1100 by Bertrand of St Gilles, son of Raymond IV, count of Toulouse.

Najac has been near major events of history: the first English occupation, the Albigensian Crusade, the Hundred Years' War, the imprisonment of the Knights Templar, the peasants' revolts, and the French Revolution.

After having been used as a stone quarry after the French Revolution, Najac was saved by the Cibiel family, who own it and open it to visitors.
The Château de Najac is one of a group of 23 castles in Aveyron who have joined together to provide a tourist itinerary as the Route des Seigneurs du Rouergue.
The castle has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1925.

Now for a micro-rant - France is full of beautiful and extremely interesting places - however, there are a couple of things that nark me :

Firstly, the 'marketing' of these places is overall pretty poor and there are often very few markers to show where interesting places are to be found. For example, we passed two large monuments on the way here, to the French resistance fighters in the region, and another of a Templar's Hospital, which, to say the least were timidly indicated.

The other thing is that to be able to benefit from culture and history in France, well, just don't be poor! The entry to the château is over 5 euros for adults and just a little less for kids! So, if you want to go for lunch and take in a château and pay autoroute and put fuel in your car ... well, just don't be poor.
We also went to the Abbaye de Beaulieu - same story - 5.50 euros entry!

There - as you were.

I hope your Sunday is a good one!