Puyguilhem Castle
The castle Puyguilhem ( French Château de Puyguilhem ) is located near the municipality of Villars in the Dordogne department of the French Périgords . The Renaissance chateau was built at the beginning of the 16th century and has the same structural features as the Loire chateaux from the time of Francis I. The chateau has been included in the list of historical monuments of France since 1881 with a brief interruption .
The construction of Puyguilhem Castle began in 1513 on behalf of Mondot de La Marthonie , the first President of the Parlement of Paris. He was a confidante of Franz I and his mother Luise of Savoy ; in times of armed conflicts he acted as imperial administrator .
There seems to have been two construction phases: The first lasted until 1524 and comprised the foundation walls, part of the corner tower and the hexagonal tower in which the staircase of honor is located. A little later, the remaining parts of the palace complex, including the residential wing, were tackled, and in 1535 the building was finally completed. While the residential wing and the other furnishings with dormer windows and chimneys show the Renaissance style, the defiant round tower shows that armed conflicts were still expected at the beginning of the 16th century.
The castle is modest in size and served Mondot La Marthonie as a secondary residence and as a stay during the hunt. The furnishings corresponded to what was absolutely essential from the point of view of a nobleman of the time. The valuable tapestries and the coffered ceilings are well worth seeing . Outside there is an avenue of lime trees and the large pigeon tower in the park.
In order to protect the public interest, the castle was expropriated by the French state in 1938 because the owner had let it fall into disrepair. The restoration took 20 years. Today the monument is managed by a private company, which owns various other sights in the region.
literature
- Susanne Böttcher (Ed.): Périgord, Dordogne, Limousin (= Michelin. The Green Guide ). Travel House Media, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-8342-8995-7 , p. 104.
Web links
- Château de Puyguilhem (French)
Coordinates: 45 ° 25 ′ 12.7 ″ N , 0 ° 44 ′ 48.6 ″ E