Château d'Hautpoul, Medieval castle ruins in Hautpoul, France

Château d'Hautpoul is a castle ruin in two sections perched on a hillside above Mazamet. The lower part retains an irregular shape with some openings still visible, while the upper section appears as a fortified building with rounded towers.

The seigneurial tower was probably built in the 11th century by the Hautpoul family, notably Pierre-Raymond from 1084. In 1212, during the Albigensian Crusade, Simon de Montfort took the castle after a four-day siege and had it dismantled and burned. Two castles were later built, low and high, whose construction dates are unknown. The lower castle was dismantled in 1616 and bought and rehabilitated by the commune of Mazamet in 1993.

The name Hautpoul comes from the family that held the seigneury, whose members styled themselves lords of the Hautpoullois mountains; Pierre-Raymond is named from 1084. A 1162 oath before Raimond Trencavel shows the seigneury shared between five co-lords. A legend credits the Visigoth king Athaulf with founding the village and its first fortress in 413.

The lower section is reachable on foot via a local footbridge, but the upper part remains privately owned. It helps to know the local walking routes and bring proper gear for exploring this hillside location.

The lower castle was bought by the commune of Mazamet in 1993 and rehabilitated; it is now open to the public and reached by the new footbridge from the Saint-Sauveur church. The upper castle, a fortified house with two truncated round towers and mullioned windows, stays in private hands.