En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de Valon towers 300 metres above the Truyère valley, in the commune of Lacroix-Barrez. Dating originally from the 11th century and built of rough schist rubble, it comprises a fully enclosed forecourt, a central keep with corner turrets and crenellations, in which a spiral staircase serves four superimposed halls, an inner courtyard and interconnected residential buildings. Held in succession over eight centuries by the families de Valon (1265), de Peyre, Rolland, Chaumeil (1589), Fontanges, La Garde de Chambonas, Verdier, Bancarel and then Delrieu, it was captured in 1378 by the routier captain Aymerigot Marchès, an ally of the English, before being returned by treaty in 1387. Deteriorating after the Revolution, its roofs collapsed around 1845; the architect Jean-Louis Fougerousse bought it and stabilised it. The Communauté de communes du Carladez now manages the site, which was restored between 2003 and 2009 and is open to visitors, including groups.