Château du Chastelas

En un regard

Le château en bref

The Château du Chastelas, now in ruins, overlooks the village of Grospierres from a narrow rocky spur above the Chassezac valley, in Ardèche. A local history source places the construction of a first castle and a church at the foot of the rock as early as the 10th century, without confirmation from an official heritage source. The site's existence is, however, well documented from the 12th century onwards: in 1150, Dalmas and Géraud de Grospierres are mentioned as Templars of Jalès, and in 1193 an agreement was concluded between Count Raymond V of Toulouse and the Bishop of Viviers concerning the castle. In 1319, Alazacia de Grospierres donated the castle to Thomas d'Orcières. The castral village that developed around the building was attacked in 1568 by the Huguenot troops of Captain Mathieu Merle and then gradually lost its population; by 1615, the church of Saint-Pierre du Chastelas was already reported as completely ruined, and the site was abandoned in the 19th century. Today, sections of wall survive, including a small quadrangular tower at the highest point and the remains of a bailey rampart. A local association, “Renaissance du Chastelas”, was founded in 1980 to safeguard the site. No Mérimée record or Wikidata entry has been identified for this castle.