Château de Chalard

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château du Chalard, at Saint-Paul-la-Roche (Dordogne), now survives only as a site of ruins: a feudal motte, at the locality known as Le Chalard, which is said to have carried a fortified castle and formed the dominant fief of the lordship. Its existence is attested as early as the 11th century. In 1143, Viscount Boson II of Turenne is said to have been killed by an arrow while besieging the stronghold, an episode linked to the conflicts between the Flamenc family of La Roche-Saint-Paul and the viscounts of Limoges. In the 13th century the fief was granted to the Bestenc family, then to the Vigier family in the 14th century; the commune also mentions the Bruzac and Flamenc families. Destroyed or almost entirely ruined during the Hundred Years' War, the castle has left only its foundations, the entrance to former underground passages and ditches half filled in, at the foot of a large wooded mound. Privately owned, it is not open to visitors.