Château de Saint-Félix-Lauragais

The Château de Saint-Félix-Lauragais is a castle in the commune of Saint-Félix-Lauragais in the Haute-Garonne département of France.[1]

The castle was originally constructed in the 11th century. The first Synod of the Cathar church, known as the Council of Saint-Félix was held there in 1167. In the 14th century, the castle was transformed into a country house by a brother of Pope John XXII. The complex includes buildings from the 13th to the 18th centuries.[1]

Since its founding, it had always been privately owned. However, in early 2012 the then owners agreed to sell the château to a family who intended to restore it into a family home. Only a small portion of it was habitable and it was estimated that 2,850,000 € would be required to make it fully so. In late August 2012, the commune of St-Felix-Lauragais, at the request of the mayor André Rey, intervened in the purchase and compulsorily acquired the château at a cost of 1,240,000 €.[2] Despite the economic crisis affecting France at the time, it is not known how the commune will raise the almost 3,000,000 € needed to make the building safe for the public to use and visit. The mayor simply noted "mais le financement est compliqué" (the financing is complicated).[2] At the time, according to the town hall, the commune had a population of only 1,373.[3]

It has been listed since 1994 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.[1]