Hauts LieuxChapels, sanctuaries & legends

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Legendary castleDordogne

Château de Rastignac

La Bachellerie

Dimensions
A neoclassical house whose garden front opens with a rotunda of six columns, of a design very close to the south front of the White House in Washington; entrance vestibule and stone staircase protected separately.
Period
Neoclassical house built from 1811 to 1817 for the marquis de Rastignac, to the designs of the Périgord architect Mathurin Salat.
What stands there
Protected as a monument historique in two stages: on 16 January 1946 for the façades, the roofs, the outbuildings and the park; on 15 June 1951 for the entrance vestibule and the stone staircase (PA00082331). Private property. Burnt in the 20th century, the building was rebuilt by the architect Froidevaux under the monuments historiques service.

The château de Rastignac is a neoclassical house built from 1811 to 1817 at La Bachellerie, in the east of the department. Its garden front, opened by a rotunda of six columns, very closely resembles the south front of the White House in Washington, whose portico was completed in 1824, seven years after Rastignac; the origin of this resemblance is debated by historians and no filiation is established in either direction. The resemblance gives the château a renown that reaches far beyond the Périgord. Burnt in the 20th century, the building was rebuilt by the architect Froidevaux under the monuments historiques service. It has been protected since 1946 and remains a private property closed to the public.

Further reading

Getting there : Private property: the château cannot be visited. It is visible from the road between Brive and Périgueux (Guide du Périgord).

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 Rastignac
Michel Chanaud · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nearby

In the same department

All places — Dordogne (80).