Location: Dordogne département Map
Constructed: 1183
The Château de Bourdeilles is located in the French town of
Bourdeilles in the department of Dordogne. It is a set of two
castles: one is a 13th century medieval fortress built by Géraud
de Maulmont on older foundations; the other is a 16th century
Renaissance palace. The entire site was classified as a
historical monument in 1919.
Location
The castle is
built on a long rock, on the left bank of the Dronne, in the
commune of Bourdeilles, in the French department of Dordogne. He
watched the old medieval bridge with beaks as well as an old
mill.
Origin
The castle of Bourdeilles is mentioned for the first
time in 11833. Undoubtedly owned by the family of Bourdeilles,
it was then in the movement of the abbey of Brantôme, which was
confirmed by a judgment of 1279. It then controlled the one of
the routes from Périgueux to Angoulême at the Dronne crossing
point. A village has formed at the foot of the castle between
the bridge and the church.
A medieval fortress in the
13th and 14th centuries
The dungeon.
The oldest
description that we have of the castle is the report drawn up on
August 13, 1400, on the occasion of the handing over of the
castellany to the new count of Périgord, Louis d'Orléans. It
confirms the presence of two castles: that of the counts and
that of the barony, already in ruins at that time. The latter
was located at the northeast corner of the current enclosure,
near the location of the Renaissance palace.
Description
The ensemble is made up of a medieval castle, with a 14th
century keep standing on the terrace at the prow, at the foot of
which lie the dwellings, and a Renaissance castle. The village
has huddled back, in a hollow, behind this ensemble.
The
medieval castle
The Castle of the Counts occupies the entire
west terrace. It consists of a stately home with an octagonal
keep, preceded by a courtyard surrounded by high fortified
walls.
Géraud de Maulmont undertook the construction of
the keep from 1283, according to a model similar to that which
had been retained in Châlus for another of its castles, Châlus
Maulmont. Its construction would have started around 1280 and
would have been completed in the following century. It is 35
meters high, with walls 2.50 meters thick, and surmounted by a
panoramic terrace from which there is an unobstructed view of
Bourdeilles.
The Renaissance Palace
The construction
of a palace near the old castle was directed by Jacquette de
Montbron from 1588 until her death in 1598. Its style was
inspired by Italian architectural standards that Jacquette de
Montbron had discovered in the books of Sebastiano Serlio. The
Italian influences are stronger there than at the Château de
Matha, another château belonging to the Montbron family, in
particular because Jacquette de Montbron benefited from her time
at court in the service of Catherine de Médicis.