Bourassol Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Château de Bourrassol, sometimes spelled Bourassol, is located in Ménétrol, in the Puy-de-Dôme department. The site has had two successive castles. In the 13th century, the lords of Bourrassol built a fortress on a mound overlooking the road from Riom to Clermont, combining a residential block and a keep, which on occasion served as a toll post. At the end of the Middle Ages, the inhabitants of Riom, exasperated by the lords' exactions, obtained its demolition. In the 17th century, a new château in the Louis XIII style was built lower down, on the site of former outbuildings. During the Second World War, the château was used as a place of detention for the figures tried at the Riom trial, including Léon Blum, Édouard Daladier and General Gamelin. The precise layout, materials and interiors of the present château are not described by the sources consulted, and no protection as a monument historique has been identified. It is open to visitors on an exceptional basis, notably during a historical night visit organised by the Terra Volcana tourist office.