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Montricoux


Montricoux is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. It is located along the banks of the Aveyron, between Nègrepelisse and Bruniquel. The written history of the commune dates back to the eighth century. The Château de Montricoux, built by the Knights Templar, now houses the Marcel-Lenoir Museum, which preserves 130 drawings, pastels, watercolors, oils, and frescoes by this artist, a resident of the town.

On the right bank of the Aveyron, Montricoux, with an area of 2644 hectares, lies in lower Quercy where the river leaves the limestone gorges of the Massif Central for the plain. Thus its nickname, "Portes des Gorges de l'Aveyron", (Gates of the Aveyron Gorges).

The first known name of Montricoux was "Mormacus" then "Mons-Riculfi" which in langue d'Oc became "Mont-Ricolf" and later "Mont-Ricos", which means "rough, harsh mountain."

The nearby site archaeological site of Fontalès in Saint Antonin dates to the end of the Upper Paleolithic (Magdalenian). Flints from northwestern France and the Périgord have been found in Montricoux and a number of other sites in the Aveyron valley, providing evidence for the travel of ancient nomads through the region.

Stone axes have been found in nearby St Laurent, and these and the cave dwellings, flints, dolmens and a tumulus known as the Tombeau du Géant (Giant's Tomb) in the nearby forest of Bretou indicate a human presence since very early times. An Iron Age tumulus has been discovered in a Montricoux locality named "Quartou" and a line of dolmens, possibly Bronze Age, stretches from Montricoux to Puylaroque.

Historic sites and monuments include:
  • The church of Saint-Pierre de Montricoux The interior has a fresco of the Annunciation by Marcel-Lenoir (1923). The nave and the lower part of the steeple date from the 12th-13th centuries. The steeple and entrance were registered in 1914 as monuments historiques. Several objects in the church, such as the baptismal font, are registered in the base Palissy.
  • Église Saint-Laurent (Saint Lawrence) of Saint-Laurent-Nord, a former possession of the priory of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, then of the Knights Templar. The building is referenced in the base Mérimée and in the Inventaire général Région Occitanie (General Inventory of the Occitanie Region).
  • Château de Montricoux, former commandery of the Knights Templar; only the keep remains of the original building, damaged during the French Revolution. Deeded to the Templars May 14, 1181. Taken, pillaged and burned by Calvinists in 1568. Keep separately registered as a monument historique 7 November 1927.
  • Place Marcel-Lenoir
  • public wash-basin in Saint-Laurent.
  • Church of Saint-Benoît de Castres, which also belonged to the priory of Saint-Antonin then to the Templars.
  • The old city walls. Traces of the ramparts remain, flanked by three semi-circular towers. Another tower behind the church was destroyed. Three gates topped by turrets also once gave entry to the town: a low gate to the west, the high gate to the east, and the Saint-Antoine gate facing the river.



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