Château d'Apcher, Medieval castle ruins in Prunières, France.

Château d'Apcher is a ruined feudal castle whose only intact structure is a tall square keep of rough grey stone, with a row of arched openings near its flat top and a single narrow slit low on the front face. A shattered fragment of walling abuts the keep's base, and lower masonry extends to the right.

The castle was built and altered in the 11th century, with further work in the 12th and 14th centuries. Its first written record dates from 1180, when Garin de Châteauneuf, lord of Apcher, paid homage to Aldebert III du Tournel, Bishop of Mende; Garin had married Alix d'Apchier, last heir of the first Apchier family. Seat of the barons then marquises d'Apchier, it was gradually abandoned from the 17th century. The chapel and tower were classified as monuments historiques on 18 May 1983.

The name Apcher derives from the Latin personal name Appius with the suffix -arium, as recorded by toponymists Albert Dauzat and Charles Rostaing. The castle was the seat of the barons, later marquises, d'Apchier, one of the eight baronies of Gévaudan. Garin de Châteauneuf took the name through his marriage to Alix d'Apchier, the last heir of the first Apchier family, in the 12th century.

The site is a ruin on communal land in Prunières, reached from the roads between Saint-Chély-d'Apcher and Le Malzieu-Ville, near the Truyère. Only the keep stands whole; the rest is loose stone and broken walling, so watch your footing and keep to the visible paths. The chapel and tower have been classified as monuments historiques since 18 May 1983.

The keep tower remains remarkably intact while other sections crumbled over time. This uneven state of decay reveals how the site was gradually left behind across generations.