La Couvertoirade

The village of La Couvertoirade

Situated on the edge of the Larzac plateau, La Couvertoirade's exceptional state of preservation reflects the military might of the Knights Templar and the daily life of the Hospitallers. Listed as one of the "Most Beautiful Villages in France", La Couvertoirade is a veritable "miniature" of a medieval town. Few medieval sites in France are so well preserved. La Couvertoirade was at the heart of the Knights Templar system, of which Larzac, with its cereal plantations to the south of the plateau, was one of the major domains.

So much so that it was dubbed "the plain of the temple". The castle was built in 1249 by the Knights Templar. For seven centuries, La Couvertoirade was home to them and their "heirs", the Hospitallers, who took possession of their property after 1312.
That year saw the abolition of the Templar Order, following the giant plot hatched by Philip the Fair against the Knights Templar.