Château de Ventadour 1.87

The Château de Ventadour is in the commune of Moustier-Ventadour in the department of Corrèze (Limousin).SituationPlaced on a rocky outcrop overhanging the valley of Luzège, only few vestiges remain on the site of this feudal castle, which is still remarkably wild. The existing enclosure follows the contour of the plateau thus protecting a place of 170 m length and 30 m wide at its maximum. One finds inside some traces of a chapel and a residence, an important round tower and a section of wall seeming to be that of a square keep. (Though most impressive when glimpsed from the D991, access is advised from the Égletons direction. Access is possible from the D991 but is a steep, single track with tight hair-pin bends).HistoryThe castle was built in the eleventh century, and probably altered during several periods of construction and rebuilding extending from the twelfth to the fifteenth century. It controlled the viscounty of Ventadour, whose political centers were Égletons and Ussel. Ventadour became a county in 1350 under Philippe de Valois, and a Duchy-Peerage in 1578. It was held by the noble family of Ventadour until 1472, when the last heiress married Louis de Lévis, Baron de la Voulte. Later the stronghold passed by marriage to Rohans, and from the Rohan-Soubises-Ventadour line to the Prince of Condé, who allowed it to fall into disrepair. Sold as a national asset, the castle gradually was dismantled, especially after the Bourbon Restoration, when it was acquired by the merchant and materials dealer Pertuis du Gay. It was then the property of the duke of Lévis-Mirepoix.