Château du Puy-de-Val

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château du Puy-de-Val, in Espagnac, raises its mass of buildings and towers above the surrounding valleys. Its oldest tower, of primitive construction, still retained its intact crenellations at the beginning of the 19th century. In the 15th and 16th centuries the castle was enlarged with additional buildings and square towers, and then, in 1572, with an inner courtyard closed by an arcaded gallery. Linked by marriage in 1339 to the niece of Pope Clement VI, and later allied with the Cosnac, Pompadour and Monstier-Mérinville families in the 17th century, the estate passed in 1776 to François Darche, who was guillotined during the Terror in 1794. Listed as a historic monument (classé) since 1927 (amended in 2011), it remains a private property closed to visitors.