Château de Rochechouart

Rochechouart

The château de Rochechouart occupies an extraordinary site: that of a meteorite impact crater some 210 million years old, whose rocks transformed by the shock, known as impactites, were used directly in its construction. Founded around the year 1000 by the viscounts of Rochechouart, whose line goes back to the first viscount Aymeric and counts the Mortemart family among its descendants, the fortress preserves from its medieval state a fortified entrance and a 13th-century keep. In the 15th and 16th centuries the château was almost entirely rebuilt in a Renaissance spirit, adorning itself with remarkable painted decoration: the hunting frescoes of the Salle des Chasses, executed in the early 16th century, and the Hercules gallery, rediscovered only in 1965 after being whitewashed in the 19th century. In 1836 the Rochechouart family ceded the château to the department of Haute-Vienne. Since 1985 it has housed the departmental museum of contemporary art, which sets modern collections alongside Renaissance decoration. A three-million-euro restoration, carried out from 2015 to 2018, renovated facades, roofs and woodwork, while historical rooms opened in 2017 trace the monument's evolution from its geological origin to its present role as a museum.

Getting there : Departmental museum of contemporary art open all year round (except certain public holidays), in the town centre of Rochechouart, about 40 km west of Limoges; parking nearby.

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

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