Château de la Balme de Montbrun

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de la Balme de Montbrun (or Balmes de Montbrun), in the commune of Saint-Gineis-en-Coiron in the Ardèche, is a troglodytic castral site built around the year 1000 by the de la Balme family. Set on a volcanic spur of the Coiron plateau, it overlooks ancient basalt cliffs 30 to 50 metres high, pierced by some fifty troglodyte dwellings, around thirty of which are still visible today. The castrum, first mentioned in 1160, became an allod of the bishopric of Viviers in 1206 and then a fief in 1210. In the 15th century, Montbrun was the administrative seat of a castellany covering the territory and parish of Saint-Gineys; in 1464, the hamlet was as populous as the parish village. The site was gradually abandoned from the 16th century onwards, before being completely deserted at the end of the 19th or the beginning of the 20th century. Only a few modest remains of the castle itself are still visible today, while the caves retain numerous features (beam sockets, stairways, niches, benches, hearths).