Château d'Arlempdes

En un regard

Le château en bref

First mentioned in 1267 as ‘Castrum Arlempdii’ in a bull of Pope Clement IV, but already fortified in the 10th and 11th centuries, as its Vellavian Romanesque chapel attests, the Château d'Arlempdes first belonged to the Montlaur family. It was largely rebuilt from 1429 by the Poitiers-Valentinois family, following the marriage of Anne de Montlaur to Charles III de Poitiers, a comrade-in-arms of Joan of Arc, whose coat of arms still crowns the main entrance. Diane de Poitiers (1499–1566), the famous royal favourite, held the title of ‘Dame d'Arlempdes’ as the daughter of Jean de Poitiers. It later passed to Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon and Marshal of France, and then to the Laval family. It was listed as a Monument Historique on 27 February 1926, given to the Fondation du Prado (Lyon) in 1940, and has been taken in hand since 1963 by the association ASACHAR.