Château de Revirand

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château de Revirand is a ruined fortified site on the hill of Revirand, in the commune of Sarras, in Ardèche, overlooking the Rhône valley. Built at the end of the 11th century, probably under the authority of the Archbishopric of Vienne, it occupied a strategic position for watching over the passages of the Rhône valley and the trade route of the Ay valley. Around 1230, the seigneury passed to the powerful Pagan de Mahun family, then around 1360 to the de Tournon family. In 1363, in the midst of the Hundred Years' War, the castle was attacked by bands of routiers and could not withstand the assault. The seigneury was later held by the de Polignac family around 1570. Subsequently abandoned, the site has remained in ruins, with a medieval curtain wall extending over several hundred metres but of limited height, with no surviving trace of crenellations or machicolations. In 2011, the commune of Sarras acquired part of the site and the ruins, consolidated them and created a discovery trail with interpretive panels, managed jointly since 2013 with the Conservatoire d'espaces naturels Rhône-Alpes. Now freely accessible, the site is also valued for its natural-history interest, with characteristic dry grasslands and heathlands.