Château de Bourdeilles

 

Location: Dordogne département   Map

Constructed: 1183

 

Description of Château de Bourdeilles

Château de Bourdeilles  Château de Bourdeilles

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.

 

History

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.