The ruins of the Château de Châlucet are in the commune of Saint-Jean-Ligoure

Saint-Jean-Ligoure

Saint-Jean-Ligoure is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.-References:*...

, about 10 km to the south of Limoges

Limoges

Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....

, in the département of Haute-Vienne

Haute-Vienne

Haute-Vienne is a French department named after the Vienne River. It is one of three departments that together constitute the French region of Limousin.The chief and largest city is Limoges...

, and less than 2 km from the Pôle de Lanaud.

They dominate the confluence of the rivers Briance

Briance

The Briance is a long river in the Haute-Vienne département, central France. Its source is at La Croisille-sur-Briance. It flows generally northwest...

 and Ligoure.

The château is a medieval fortress, with a purely defensive goal; it is composed of two parts:

• a castle, on the top of a timbered rocky overcrop represents the upper Châlucet ;
• a square keep of the 12th century, called "Tour Jeanette" is the remaining part of the residence building, that was the lower Châlucet . The overall shape of the fortress was trapezoidal, and was composed of the main building (formerly arched), courtyard
  Courtyard
  A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
  
  s, and the keep
  Keep
  A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
  
  .

Object of power for the local lords, belonging to the lands of the abbey of Solignac

Solignac

Solignac is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in west-central France.-Geography:The village lies on the right bank of the Briance, which flows westward through the commune.Inhabitants are known as Solignacois....

, it was the symbol of the feudal power for those (mainly bishops or Viscounts of Limoges) who disputed the use and control of it. At the beginning of 14th century, the king of France himself seemed to make very large investments there. By an irony of the history, its defensive role, very dissuasive until 15th century, was fully used during the Hundred Years' War

Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...

by bands of plunderers which roamed the country.

Restored at the end of the 1990s, the castle of Châlucet is easily accessible today, with a tourist circuit and explanatory panels.

Its name is sometimes written: Château de Chalusset.

External links

• www.chalucet.net Article on the Château de Châlucet