En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de Berzème is a fortified castle located in the commune of Berzème, in the Ardèche, on the volcanic Coiron plateau. Its construction is traditionally dated to the 15th century, under the Lestrange family, although an 18th-century manuscript attributes it to Gaspard de Mantin, a nobleman from Avignon who is said to have acquired the lands of Berzème in 1634. The building later passed to the Fayon and then the Roqueplane families, and in the 19th century notably hosted the poet Eugène de Villedieu. Built of basalt, the volcanic stone characteristic of the Coiron, the building resembles a fortified house (maison forte) rather than a true castle: square in plan, it is flanked by two round towers on its south front, formerly crenellated, whose battlements are said to have been razed on Richelieu's orders. Regarded as the only fortified castle surviving on the Coiron plateau, it is today in mixed ownership, shared between private individuals and the commune, which acquired and restored part of it from 1999 onwards in order to preserve it. The façades and roof of the main residence, together with all the farm outbuildings, were registered (inscrits) as historic monuments by decree of 28 February 1997. The site now hosts municipal activities and a museum space.
