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Legendary castleDordogne

Château de Montréal

Issac

Dimensions
A fortress overlooking the valley of the Crempse, protected by a double enclosure of ramparts. Château on a rectangular plan with a corner tower to the north-west, a Renaissance chapel with a wooden vault strewn with fourteen stars, a circular library fitted into a tower, vaulted underground passages, Italian-style gardens awarded the "Jardin remarquable" label.
Period
Double enclosure and castle of the 12th and 13th centuries; dismantling in 1430 and then rebuilding after 1453; chapel around 1539; alterations in the 16th and in the 19th century.
What stands there
Listed as a monument historique (inscribed) on 29 November 1948, with a supplementary classification on 12 December 1991 (record PA00082578). Property of the Faubournet de Montferrand family. The chapel houses a silver reliquary containing the Holy Thorn.

The château de Montréal has watched the valley of the Crempse since the 12th century, between the Périgord blanc and the Périgord pourpre. Dismantled in 1430, it was raised again after 1453 by Michel de Peyronenc, then remodelled at the Renaissance: the grand chamberlain François de Pontbriand, superintendent of the works at Chambord, left his mark on it. A double enclosure still protects the rectangular block; beneath the château, a staircase under a pointed arch descends towards two great natural cavities with rib vaults. The chapel, built around 1539, keeps a silver reliquary in which lies a thorn held to come from the crown of Christ, and the country tells how it arrived from the battle of Castillon. It was from here too that Claude de Pontbriand set out, a companion of Jacques Cartier in 1535.

Further reading

Getting there : Open to visitors from 1 July to 31 August; group visits by appointment out of season. Prices: €6 adults, €4 from 8 to 18 years, €5 groups and students.

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 Montréal
Cjp24 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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All places — Dordogne (80).