Château de Lacoste (Lot)
The Château de Lacoste is a ruined castle in the "commune" of Salviac in the Lot "département" of France. The castle dates originally from the 11th century. There were further additions and alterations, most significantly in the 12th, 15th, 16th and 18th centuries. The castle is built on the walls of older fortifications. It consists of three "corps de logis" grouped around a courtyard; a more recent building has grown along the park. A stone spiral staircase, in the angle formed between two of the buildings, gives access from the courtyard into various buildings at different  levels. In the 18th century, a large perron was constructed the length of the courtyard façade of the western "logis". A second perron, now dismantled, gave access from the park to the southern buildings. Inside, rooms have kept their 17th century woodwork, with "plafonds à la française" (French-style ceilings: joists the same width as the spaces between them; "see in French Wikipedia). The castle is privately owned and not open to the public. It has been listed since 1962 as a "monument historique" by the French Ministry of Culture.