Rochebloine Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Rochebloine Castle (Château de Rochebloine) is a former fortress, now in ruins, located in the commune of Nozières in Ardèche, on a rocky spur overlooking the Doux valley at an altitude of 998 metres. Built in the early 13th century, probably by the Pagan-Retourtour family, it is first mentioned in 1220, when the Dauphin André pledged it as security together with the castle of Malleval. In 1262, Roger III de Clérieu in turn ceded the castle to the Dauphin. It was seized in 1287 by Henri Dragon, a royal bailiff, before Philip the Fair ordered its restitution to the Dauphin in 1294. Around 1295–1296, the castle formed part of the dowry of Alice de Viennois, brought to John I, Count of Forez. Abandoned at the end of the 14th century, it fell into ruin and then served as a stone quarry for local building. Today all that remains is a section of thick wall, the last vestige of a circular tower, together with a defensive ditch cut into the rock and traces of a lower courtyard (basse-cour). The site, freely accessible, can be reached by a waymarked trail offering views over the Doux valley and the surrounding mountains.