Hauts LieuxChapels, sanctuaries & legends

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Legendary castleDordogne

Château de Biron

Biron

Dimensions
A vast complex perched on a rocky knoll: Romanesque keep, upper courtyard lined with noble residential ranges, fortified bailey, chapel on two superimposed levels, great stone staircase, vaulted kitchens, hall of justice, round-headed arcade.
Period
Keep of the 12th century; the visible buildings are spread over the 12th to the 17th century; two-storey chapel of 1515.
What stands there
Listed as a monument historique (classified) in 1928, with a supplementary listing in 1992 (record PA00082386); the gardens, the park and two fountains are inscribed. Property of the department of the Dordogne since 1978. Seat of one of the four baronies of the Périgord.

The château de Biron occupies a rocky knoll in the south of the Périgord, on the edge of the Agenais. It was the seat of one of the four baronies of the Périgord and remained in the hands of the Gontaut-Biron family for eight centuries. Taken in 1211 by the Albigensian crusaders, sacked under the Terror, it was acquired by the department of the Dordogne in 1978 and has been restored since. There one sees a keep of the 12th century, a two-storey chapel built in 1515, an upper courtyard surrounded by residential ranges and vaulted kitchens. The family gave France two marshals, among them Charles de Gontaut, beheaded in 1602 and become a revenant in the memory of the country.

Further reading

Getting there : Open to visitors; the château hosts exhibitions and performances.

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

See it on the map OpenStreetMap Directions

Ambient sound

Château de Biron
GO69 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nearby

In the same department

All places — Dordogne (80).