Villages in the wine growing plain

As in the case of the villages of Puéchabon or Le Pouget, the name Puilacher indicates that the buildings are situated on a puech or pog, derived from the Latin word podium. The village appear in late 11th-century texts. It is a market-town commanding a crossroads and this means that it has the form of a castrum that radiates out from a central point.

The special feature of this place is that the centre of the village is occupied by a Romanesque parish church, suggesting that the theory of its development from a castrum with a castle chapel is uncertain. It is nevertheless possible that the original château was built in the 12th century at the same time as a parish church.

Various rebuilding work in the 17th century has completely reshaped the medieval château which took in the parish church of Sainte-Trinité, thereby limiting the possibilities for restoring the medieval topography of the place. The shape of the present château, which has been declared a Historic Monument since 21 December 1984, has two elements, forming a T, of which one wall is built up against the church.

Another particular feature of the village was the building of a modern house with a monumental facade at the beginning of the 1920s that contrasts totally with the other dwellings in the bourg. It is a reflection of the expansion in wine-growing in the area following the crisis of 1907 and the setting up of the co-operative movement. It is a representative of the art nouveau of the early years of the 20th century and a symbol of the village’s overall charm.


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