Bonaguil

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Shortened history of the castle:

Located in the Lot-et-Garonne department of south-west France, Bonaguil was the last of the great fortified castles to be constructed in France. It is built in an impressive location on a high rocky spur between two rivers. Hence the name of the castle, which comes from the French 'bonne aiguille' (good needle).

The original 13th century castle was a much simpler castle than the one we now see. Bonaguil was on the side of the English during the Hundred Years War, which led to the original castle being plundered and damaged.

At the end of the 15th century, the damaged castle was transformed by Béranger de Roquefeuil into a highly defensive one. He was quite a character and said, "I will raise a castle that my villains subjects will not be able to capture, nor the English if they are audacious enough to come back, and even the king of France’s most powerful soldiers." His castle took over forty years to construct and comprised of 13 towers and 1167 feet of defensive perimeter, all adapted for use of gun powered weaponry. When it was complete, it was said an entire army would have been necessary to capture the castle.

The castle contained all the innovations to deal with an artillery attack, the new force at that time - the main effort being to prevent enemy artillery approaching too closely to the castle, while also permitting retaliatory artillery fire from the castle itself. This effort involved extensive building of a further perimeter of defensive walls, the construction of tall towers, and the creation of a deep moat, crossed by a drawbridge, on the land-facing side of the castle.

However, at around the same time, other castles further north in France were starting to be converted from fortresses to more comfortable residences, and as it turned out de Roqeufeuil was too late - he expected an attack that never arrived and the fortifications were unnecessary.

Despite occasional efforts to improve the comfort in Bonaguil, the castle was only fully occupied in the 18th century when fortunes started to arrive in order to the castle into more comfortable living accommodation.

Following the French Revolution the castle became a national property, and suffered from the immediate impact of the revolution, as did many castles in France - much of the carpentry and roofing was destroyed, and the towers damaged and reduced in height. From 1862 however it has been a classified National Monument and has undergone maintenance and restoration.

Opening times and additional information:

- February and Mars : from 11am to 1pm and from 2.30pm to 5.30pm
- April and May : from 10.30am to 1pm and from 2.30pm to 5.30pm
- June, July and August : from 10am to 6pm non-stop.
- September : from 10.30am to 1pm and from 2.30pm to 5pm
- October : from 11am to 1pm and from 2.30pm to 5pm
- November, December and January during the school holidays.

Adults : 7,00 €
Children (6 to 12) : 4,00 €
Groups (20 visitors minimum) 6,00 €

If you are planning a visit to the castle, there is an impressive night-time firework display (embrasement) held towards the end of July each year with stunning lighting and sound effects giving an extra dimension to a visit to Bonaguil.