Château de Turenne

Turenne

On its limestone hill overlooking the causse of Corrèze, Turenne was for centuries a virtual state within the kingdom. The site is mentioned as early as 767, when Pepin the Short came to lay siege to it; the first viscounts appear in 823, and tradition credits the establishment of the fortress on its present site to Archambaud "Jambe Pourrie" (Rotten Leg) or to his grandson, around the year 1000. Four families succeeded one another here — Comborn, Comminges, Roger de Beaufort, then La Tour d'Auvergne from 1444. Their privileges set historians dreaming: the viscounts of Turenne levied their own taxes, minted coin (the denier raymondin), ennobled and armed their troops, owing nothing to the king. From this line came Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, the "Great Turenne", legendary marshal of Louis XIV — who nonetheless came only twice to his fief. It all ended on 8 May 1738: riddled with gambling debts, the last viscount sold the viscounty to Louis XV, who had the fortress dismantled. What remains is the Tour César, round, eighteen metres high, of the 13th century, and the square Tour du Trésor, watching over a hanging garden created in 1920 in place of the medieval vines. From the top of the Tour César the view stretches over the whole of the lower Limousin and, on a clear day, as far as the mountains of the Cantal — a panorama that alone explains a thousand years of covetousness.

Getting there : Car parks below the village (listed among the Plus Beaux Villages de France), then a walk up through the lanes to the top of the hill. Privately owned château open to visitors; coordinates placed on the Tour César and its orientation table.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound