Château de Combrelles

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Combrelles, now in ruins, in the commune of Laveissière in the Cantal, belonged to the house of Jurquet, which claimed descent from the Counts of Toulouse: Astorg de Jurquet paid homage for his lands in 1268. The seigneury reached its height in 1366 under Bégon de Combrelles, before passing, through the daughters of Louis, lord of Combrelles, to the d'Anterroches family. The castle came through the Hundred Years' War and the religious conflicts of the 16th century, being briefly occupied by the Huguenots in 1562 before being retaken. According to the description of a former chaplain, it had three enclosures, the first 12 to 15 metres high and fitted with arrow slits and machicolations, surrounding a square keep flanked by four turrets; underground passages contained dungeons and oubliettes, with legends of secret tunnels leading to the neighbouring valleys.