Hauts LieuxChapels, sanctuaries & legends

Hauts Lieux›All places›Dordogne

Legendary castleDordogne

Château de Hautefort

Hautefort

Dimensions
U-shaped plan braced at the ends of the arms by large round towers, around a central courtyard; one of the rare classical buildings of the Dordogne, whose air recalls the châteaux of the Loire. Gatehouse with bartizans and drawbridge of 1588, staircase of honour inspired by the Ambassadors' Staircase at Versailles, chapel on a Greek-cross plan. Terraced formal French gardens all around and an English-style park of thirty hectares.
Period
The 17th century for the most part, on the foundations of a medieval castle; gatehouse of 1588, great campaign of 1633-1649, chapel consecrated in 1651, work completed in 1695.
What stands there
Listed as a monument historique (classified) on 31 October 1958 for the façades, roofs, moats, terraces and chapel; the surroundings and gardens classified on 31 December 1967 (PA00082575). Property of the Fondation du château de Hautefort, recognised as being of public utility, created in 1984.

Hautefort is one of the rare classical châteaux of the Périgord. The site was first a fortress held in the 12th century by the Born family; Constantin de Born married Agnès de Lastours around 1160, and the castle was disputed between him and his brother, the troubadour Bertran de Born, each seeking support among the Plantagenets. Constantin was driven out in 1182; Bertran, taken by Richard the Lionheart in 1183, obtained his freedom by weeping before him over the death of the prince Henry the Young King, raised the fortress again from 1184, then withdrew to the abbey of Dalon in 1194. The land passed to the Gontaut family through the marriages of 1303 and 1383, and the family substituted the name of Hautefort for its own. From 1600 François de Hautefort resolved to rebuild everything; Nicolas Rambourg, returning at the age of seventy-five, carried out the transformation from 1633 to 1649, and the Parisian architect Jacques Maigret completed the whole in 1695. Marie de Hautefort was a favourite of Louis XIII.

Further reading

Getting there : Open to visitors since 1958: château and gardens, times according to the season (Fondation du château de Hautefort).

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 Hautefort
Ambroise1415 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nearby

This place in the great stories

In the same department

All places — Dordogne (80).