Château d'Alleuze
Encyclopedia
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
situated in the commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Alleuze
Alleuze
Alleuze is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France.-Population:-Sights:Alleuze is the site of two historical monuments listed by the French Ministry of Culture:...
, in the Cantal
Cantal
Cantal is a department in south-central France. It is named after the Cantal mountain range, a group of extinct, eroded volcanic peaks, which covers much of the department. Residents are known as Cantaliens or Cantalous....
département of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Built in the 13th century by the constables of Auvergne
Auvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
, it belonged to the bishops of Clermont
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
. During the Hundred Years War it was seized for the English by Bernard de Garlan. For seven years, he sowed terror throughout the region, pillaging and holding to ransom. To avoid troubles from any Garlan successors, the inhabitants of Saint-Flour burned down the castle in 1405. Monseigneur De la Tour, owner of the castle, was very upset with this gesture, and obliged the Sanflorains to rebuild it on the original plan. It was taken by Huguenots in 1575. The towers were used as jails by the bishops of Clermont
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
.
The castle is built on a square plan, with round towers in each corner, characteristic of the 14th century. It includes a chapel, Saint-Illide, built in the 13th and 15th centuries.
Today, the edifice is maintained as a ruin and has been listed, along with the chapel, since 1927 as a monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
by the French Ministry of Culture.
According to the Michelin Green Guide
Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...
to the Auvergne and Rhône Valley, which rates it as two stars ("worth a detour"), "There can scarcely be another beauty spot in the Auvergne as romantic as the site of this castle."