Saint-Cirq Lapopie

Originally in the axis of the rue de la Peyrolerie, remains of a door once defended by a portcullis.

13th and 14th century arcaded and half-timbered houses at the corner of the square. The current half-timbered floor is the result of a transformation at the end of the 15th century. The ground floor was wide open on the Place du Sombral, where the market has been held since the 13th century, but also on the main shopping street, Rue Droite or Grand Rue. Opposite, on the other side of the street, a succession of 5 arcades and 4 pointed arch doors. It is a series of houses on the ground floor serving as shops, built in the 13th or 14th century, according to the same module.

Open-air theater and garden, along a lane paved with pebbles, crossed by boxes (vaults). The Town Hall and La Poste are now installed there.

In this 15th century medieval house with small windows and trefoil arches, was the studio of the Catalan-born painter Pierre Daura. Characterized by windows with columns and trefoil tracery opening in the corner onto the Grand Rue. Extended in the 16th or XNUMXth century, along the Ruelle de la Fourdonne, it presents a series of joists sculpted by Pierre Daura under the timber frame with the cross of Saint-André. Today it is an international artists' residence, hosted by the Occitanie Region.

On the narrow rocky outcrop overlooking the Lot valley and the medieval town, extends the fort of Saint-Cirq Lapopie. From the 3th century, the fort was shared between XNUMX families of dominant lords: the Lapopie, the Cardaillacs and the Gourdons. The site has been abandoned since the XNUMXth century, in favor of more “convenient” residences.

La Popie rock

At the highest point of the cliff, the popie (from the Occitan "popa", breast-shaped promontory) supported the first castle on the site, built in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 12th century. The foundations of the master tower and the seigniorial dwelling which dominated the fort remain, as well as the remains of a fortified gate of the enclosure. The top of the rock and the belvedere set up below offer views over the entire valley.

The Cardaillac castle

Near the church, ruins of a fortified residence with a main building leaning on a Romanesque keep with buttresses. Built inside the old barnyard of the fort between the beginning of the 13th and the 14th century, it is attributed to the Cardaillacs, who are part of the co-seigneurs of the place. It was modernized in the 15th century, before being gradually abandoned by the lords, following several destructions ordered by Louis XI, Charles VIII and Henri de Navarre. The terraces of the castle offer a beautiful view over the rooftops of the village.

Dedicated to Saint-Cyr (origin of the “Cirq” of Saint-Cirq Lapopie) and Sainte-Julitte his mother. He was the youngest martyr of Christianity (about 3 years old). It was Saint-Amadour who brought the relics back to France. The Gothic church, which was built from 1522, included the old Romanesque parish church. It retains the remains of its sculpted decoration with acanthus leaves from the 12th century, as well as fragments of wall paintings from the XNUMXth century. One of the side chapels of the church is dedicated to Saint Catherine, patron saint of wood turners. Near the portal, at the foot of the fortified bell tower, is preserved one of the stone measures that regulated the sale of grain in the market. On the back of the church, terraces and a view over the valley.

XNUMXth century mansion.

The International Center for Surrealism and Global Citizenship is deployed on the Maison Emile Joseph-Rignault and André Breton, both connected by a footbridge serving as exhibition spaces open to the public.

The Rignault House, an old crenellated fortified house from the 15th century, located on the edge of the cliff. Built below the fort by the lord Hébrard de Saint-Sulpice, who would have moved his residence outside the seigniorial enclosure. Magnificently restored by art lover Joseph Rignault, it also offers visitors magnificent hanging gardens, which offer a breathtaking view of the Lot valley.

The André Breton House, characterized by the combination of a dwelling and a tower, this fortified house with Gothic windows is representative of the knights' houses, which overlooked the valley, near the fort. This house is the oldest in the village, it dates from the 13th century and its tower from the 12th century. It was once the home of the surrealist writer, André Breton. Classified as House of the Illustrious.

Bordered by the garden and the dovecote watchtower of the painter Henri Martin, this square offers a view of the plain of Tour-de-Faure. From a path descending towards the banks and the medieval mill of Aulanac, near the lock.

Half-timbered two-storey houses from the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries. Lower down, near the Porte de la Pélissaria, a fine series of houses with arcaded stalls from the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries evoke the activity of the
skinners, who are the origin of the name given to the street.

At the end of rue de la Pélissaria, which extends rue Droite, the last city gate, sometimes called the Rocamadour gate, is the best preserved. It echoes the Peyrolerie door - known as the Cahors - whose remains are still visible on the opposite side of the village, at the entrance to rue Droite.