Maison-Tour
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison-Tour, located in Cahors (Département 46), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Medieval (11th-15th century)
- Location
- Cahors, Département 46, Occitanie
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.4491, 1.4423
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00095302
A stone sentinel in the heart of Cahors, this 13th-century medieval tower house rises seven storeys on a barlong plan, preserving traces of painted plasterwork and the memory of the Collège Pélégri.
History
As you stroll through the streets of the old town of Cahors, the Maison-Tour comes into view: massive and slender, it is the epitome of Quercy medieval civil architecture at its most radical and authentic. Its vertical silhouette, characteristic of the tower-houses of the medieval Midi, stands in stark contrast to the surrounding urban fabric and is a reminder that the prosperity of Cadurci - driven by trade and banking - was written in stone as early as the 13th century. What makes the building truly unique is its perfectly legible temporal stratification. With its seven present-day levels, five of which date back to the original medieval building, the Tower House is a sort of geological cross-section of urban history. The fourth current level corresponds to the first medieval level, testifying to the gradual raising of the urban ground over the centuries - a phenomenon common to dense medieval cities, but rarely so well documented. The geminated windows that punctuate the façades are one of the building's major visual attractions. These double bays, separated by a central mullion and set within the same arch, are typical of southern Gothic vocabulary: they bring light and elegance to a structure whose primary purpose was both defensive and residential. On the north ground floor, a monumental oven completes the ensemble, evoking the intense domestic and perhaps craft life that animated these premises. The discovery of traces of painted plaster imitating a false appliance on the original first floor is one of the most valuable revelations about the Tower House. These decorations, which are rare in the region's medieval civil architecture, testify to a concern for representation and prestige that we don't always suspect in buildings of austere appearance. They open a window onto the luxurious interiors that the Cadurcian elite of the Middle Ages could afford. Visiting the Tower House also means immersing yourself in the town of Cahors itself, an episcopal and university town of considerable medieval influence, whose architectural heritage - from the Valentré Bridge to Saint-Etienne's Cathedral - forms one of the most coherent ensembles in the South-West.
Architecture
The Cahors tower-house belongs to the family of medieval tower-houses of the Midi, an architectural type that combines residential, storage and sometimes defensive functions in a vertical building with a small footprint. Its barlong plan - an elongated rectangle - is characteristic of this type of construction, optimised to fit into the tight plot layout of prosperous medieval towns. The seven existing storeys, five of which date back to the medieval phase, give the building an impressive height that was undoubtedly a visual landmark in the 13th-century urban landscape. The façades are enlivened by geminated windows, whose double mullion divides each bay into two distinct openings set under a common arch. This recurring motif, typical of southern Gothic architecture from the late 13th century, strikes a subtle balance between the robustness of the masonry - probably made of Quercy limestone, a blonde stone characteristic of the region - and the elegance of the openings. The monumental oven on the north side of the ground floor is a remarkable functional appendage, testifying to the importance of the domestic and craft activities associated with the residence. Inside, the discovery of painted plaster simulating a false oven on the original first floor is the building's major architectural revelation. This wall decoration, applied to the walls to imitate regular stonework, is part of a decorative tradition that was widely used in medieval architecture and bears witness to the aesthetic concerns of the first occupants. The superimposition of medieval and later levels makes the Tower House an exceptional document of the evolution of urban construction in Cadur over several centuries.
Related Figures
Jean Pélégri — fondateur du collège Pélégri en 1365, dont la Maison-Tour intégra le patrimoine immobilierJean XXII (pape, originaire de Cahors) — fondateur de l'université de Cahors en 1332, dans l'orbite institutionnelle de laquelle s'inscrit le collège PélégriLes banquiers cahorsins du XIIIe siècle — commanditaires probables de maisons-tours de ce type, acteurs de la prospérité financière de Cahors
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison-Tour located?
Maison-Tour is located in Cahors, Département 46 department, Occitanie region, France.
When was Maison-Tour built?
Maison-Tour dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Is Maison-Tour open to visitors?
Maison-Tour is currently closed to visitors.