Saint-Pastour, une bastide de hauteur
Pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela stop at this high bastide overlooking the Lot valley, from where the villages of Monclar-d'Agenais, Monbahus, etc. emerge.
Saint-Pastour stretches along the right bank of the Lot. The village is built on a clay and limestone soil, with a chaotic relief.
Founded by Alphonse de Poitiers between 1250 and 1259, the bastide of Saint-Pastour crowns a narrow and elongated "pech", dominating the surrounding countryside.
The numerous conflicts that threatened the country in the 14th and 15th centuries prompted the bastide to protect itself by building ramparts and fortified buildings. The protective walls were preserved until the 19th century, and the town still has traces of the ramparts and several defensive buildings, such as the old town gate crowned with a statue of Joan of Arc, an old well near the church and a wooden market hall. It is surrounded by a covered way dominated by the remains of the feudal castle.
