Tours de Carbonnières, Medieval fortified tower in Goulles, France

Tours de Carbonnières is the ruin of a medieval castrum on a rocky spur above the Bedaine and Maronne valleys, east of Goulles. Two square towers of light grey stone blocks stand side by side on a wooded slope, both stripped of their crowning. The southern tower, called Bistorg locally, is the more ruined: its south-east corner was dislocated by cannon and its south and east faces have largely collapsed. The northern tower is better preserved, with a single entrance set about four metres above ground under a chamfered, basket-handle arch.

The spur was occupied from the early feudal age, when modest buildings probably stood on the motte. The visible towers are later: the south tower, locally called Bistorg, is generally considered the oldest, while the more residential north tower belongs to a later phase of the 14th and 15th centuries. The site was held as a coseigneurie by the Carbonnières and Montal families.

The southern tower, called Bistorg or Bistor locally, stood at the access point to the promontory and had a more clearly defensive role. The northern tower, better preserved, shows fittings in its masonry that point to residential use. The site belonged to a co-seigneury shared by the Carbonnières and Montal families.

The ruins are reached on foot by a waymarked trail from Goulles, a walk of just over 2 km east through wooded, uneven ground near the Cantal border. The site is on communal land and can be visited freely; there are no facilities, so bring water and wear hiking shoes.

The southern tower is known locally as Bistorg or Bistor. Its lower room was covered by a barrel vault and lit by a narrow window. During the Wars of Religion it was hit by cannon fire, which dislocated its south-east corner at the base and largely brought down its south and east faces.