Cournon Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

In the centre of Cournon-d'Auvergne, the town hall occupies a castle whose history goes back to the Middle Ages. The first fortress, built by the first lay lord of the place, was destroyed in 1197 during the struggle between the bishop of Clermont and the count of Auvergne. Guillaume de Cournon rebuilt it as early as 1199, but the site then gradually fell into decline. The estate passed around 1652–1654 to the Strada family. In 1852, the commune bought the buildings, which successively housed the town hall, a Christian school from 1862, and then a secular boys' school until 1964. The present appearance results from a late nineteenth-century remodelling, which gave the building the look of a manor house rather than a military structure. Two medieval round towers, placed at the northern and southern corners of the east façade, nevertheless recall the defensive origin of the site. The whole complex is now entirely given over to municipal services.