Château de Dolan was a seigneurial residence and also served as a control point for arrivals to the village of Les Vignes and the Causse de Sauveterre. The château is said to have experienced some dark times…
During the reign of Henri IV, the Baroness of Dolan, Mme de Castelnau, widow of Louis d’Arpajon, lord of Château de Sévérac, rarely came to Dolan. Secretly neo-Protestant, one evening she invited 14 priests from the surrounding area. After dinner, she led them onto the château’s terrace: ” Apostasier ou mourir ” ( apostasy or death ), she told some poor unfortunates, who chose death. Madame de Castelnau’s only son later had an expiatory chapel built on the site of the tragedy, of which only the foundations remain today. A small iron cross still bears witness to that fateful day.
