Château de Durtol

En un regard

Le château en bref

On the heights above Durtol, on the outskirts of Clermont-Ferrand, the château has had an unusual history: a seigneurial manor in the Middle Ages, it became the birthplace of France's first sanatorium. The original building dates back to the 12th century, when it belonged to the lords of Durtol, and two round towers were added in the late 17th century. At the end of the 19th century, Dr Charles Sabourin, a specialist in tuberculosis, bought the estate and in 1898 opened a treatment centre there. The château became its central building, linked by galleries to three pavilions set in a park of some five hectares. In 1955 the site was taken over by the Sécurité Sociale minière. Émilie Dubuffet, wife of the painter Jean Dubuffet, was treated there in 1954–1955. Most of the pavilions were demolished in 1999, but the château was preserved. It now houses a cardiology and pneumology clinic and is not open to visitors; it can be glimpsed from the street.