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Legendary castleDordogne

Château de La Chapelle-Faucher

La Chapelle-Faucher

Dimensions
Two large medieval round towers between which is set a main range of the end of the 15th century with an octagonal stair tower; a bartizan at the south-east corner, dormer windows to the south; gatehouse of the 17th century raised after the levelling of the fortified enclosure and the drawbridge; dovecote beyond the R.D. 3. The roofs, destroyed in 1916, have never been restored: the château stands open to the sky.
Period
13th century for the fortress, rebuilding from 1485, gatehouse of the 17th century, dwelling house added against the towers in the 18th.
What stands there
Double protection of 2001: inscription on 13 February 2001 for the château, the outbuildings, the gatehouse, the terraces and the dovecote; classification on 29 May 2001 for the old main range and the two round towers. A listing of 1948 has been annulled (PA00082479). Private property.

A fortress was built at the beginning of the 13th century by Helias Fulcherius de Chabans, on a cliff overlooking the Côle. Ravaged by the Black Prince in 1369, during the neighbouring siege of Bourdeilles, it was rebuilt from 1485: a new main range with an octagonal stair tower rose between the two surviving round towers. In 1515 Marguerite de Farges brought the seigneury to Charles de Chabans de Joumard. The year 1569 wrote there its blackest page, with the massacre of 260 Catholic peasants who had taken refuge in a low hall. From 1647 to 1653 the château was the scene of a family quarrel: the marquis de Chabans, held prisoner in Italy, found on his return his gates shut against him by his mother and his brothers, who had rallied to the Fronde; the king sent the sieur du Garaud des Essards, and the siege ended with the surrender of François de Chabans in 1653. Marie-Eugénie de Chabans, the last of her line, adopted her nephew Alain de Bruc in 1912 and bequeathed him the château.

Further reading

Getting there : Private property; no regular opening to the public is known. The outline of the château can be seen from the road and from the valley of the Côle.

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 La Chapelle-Faucher
MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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In the same department

All places — Dordogne (80).