En un regard
Le château en bref
Château de Rochefort is located in the commune of Saint-Bonnet-de-Rochefort, in the Allier department, on a terrace overlooking the left bank of the Sioule. The first record of a fief on this site dates back to the late 11th century, and the château developed from the mid-12th century (around 1150) under the lords of Bourbon, who made it a defensive point on their southern frontier. It was remodelled in the 15th century (towers and west façade), restored in 1632, then altered in the 18th and 19th centuries. The ensemble retains four towers flanking the curtain walls and buildings, a lower courtyard (basse-cour) to the north and a main courtyard (cour d'honneur), as well as a 15th-century chapel along the east wall. The reception rooms house a Louis XIII fireplace, Aubusson tapestries and 17th-century paintings, including an overmantel depicting the Continence of Scipio by Isaac Moillon (c. 1653). Owned in the 14th century by Jean, Bastard of Bourbon, the château was bought in 1623 by Pierre Chartier de Rouvignac and then given in 1632 as a dowry to his daughter Jeanne on her marriage to Jean du Ligondès; it has remained in the du Ligondès family ever since. Partially listed as a historic monument (inscrit) in 1961 and then in its entirety in 2015, it is now used as a private residence. The château appears in the film Fortunat (1960), starring Bourvil and Michèle Morgan.
