En un regard
Le château en bref
The Castel de la Hierce stands in Brantôme en Périgord, on the left bank of the Dronne, at the foot of a limestone cliff pierced with caves that partly serve as its foundations. Built around 1520–1530, during the reign of Francis I, it is presented by tourist sources as one of the few châteaux in the Périgord in an exclusively Renaissance style. The main residence is flanked by a bartizan (échauguette) to the west and by a loggia and a round tower to the east, with a central rectangular tower pierced by mullioned windows and a small oratory at the rear. Listed (classé) as a historic monument as early as 1892, it remains the private property of the Dumoulin de la Plante family. Eight furnished rooms (16th–19th-century furniture, the kitchen and its copperware, drawing room, dining room) can be visited on guided tours; troglodyte dwellings and rock engravings are reported in the immediate vicinity.