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Origin and history

The Château de Vigouroux, located in Saint-Martin-sous-Vigouroux (Cantal), originally consisted of two buildings: a castle fort, seat of a medieval castle linked to the Viscounts of Murat and Carlat until 1791, and an adjacent pleasure castle, built by the Berthomier family. The latter, the only remaining one today, was erected in the sixteenth century on the remains of the destroyed fortress. As early as the 11th century, the châtellenie was a strategic fief of Carladès, confiscated and transmitted several times, notably to the Grimaldi of Monaco before the Revolution.

The original fortress, destroyed in 1360 by John Chandos (Lieutenant of the King of England), today leaves only foundations. Its ruins were partially reused for the modern castle, whose current structure dates from the 16th century, with modifications in the 18th century by Annet V de Lastic. The latter added a housing body in square and reduced the height of the towers. The castral chapel, dedicated to St. Lawrence, and a tower of archives (slashed during the Revolution) completed the whole.

The seigneury of Vigouroux passed into the hands of noble families such as the Murat, the Cardaillac, the Armagnac, then the Lastic from 1616, when Jacques de Berthomier brought the castle in dowry to Annet I of Lastic. The Lastic-Vigouroux branch lived there until the 19th century, marking local history with matrimonial alliances and political functions. Joseph-Annet de Lastic, page of Louis XVI and Josephine's chamberlain, finally sold the estate around 1845.

Notable architectural elements include Renaissance cross-windows, lastic armored stained glass windows (17th century), and period wallpapers in the rooms. The central tower, with a bas-relief hammered at the Revolution, and the western tower, worn on a cul-de-lampe, illustrate the evolution of the site, between medieval heritage and modern adaptations. The materials of the old dungeon were reused in the 18th century to build the stables of the present castle.

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