En un regard
Le château en bref
The Château de Rocher was for centuries the residence of noble families who dominated the Ligne valley in Ardèche; the village of Rocher grew up in its shadow and took its name from these seigneurial families. The estate included a park planted with remarkable cedars, whose memory lives on in the name of the present-day establishment. The castle chapel, dedicated to Saint Roch, was replaced by the present church, built in 1804 on its foundations, which retains a 17th-century altarpiece and a stained-glass window depicting Our Lady of Seven Sorrows. In 1935, nuns settled in the castle to care for patients suffering from tuberculosis. The local authority subsequently acquired the property, which operated as a sanatorium before becoming the Hôpital local intercommunal des Cèdres, still in operation today and serving the communes of Rocher and Largentière. An aqueduct built to supply the estate with water can still be seen near the site, whose exterior surroundings and church are freely accessible at no charge.