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Former Mercoeur Castle à Blesle en Haute-Loire

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Demeure seigneuriale
Château fort
Haute-Loire

Former Mercoeur Castle

    Place du Mazel
    43450 Blesle
Château de Mercoeur
Ancien château de Mercoeur
Ancien château de Mercoeur
Ancien château de Mercoeur
Ancien château de Mercoeur
Ancien château de Mercoeur
Ancien château de Mercoeur
Ancien château de Mercoeur
Ancien château de Mercoeur
Ancien château de Mercoeur
Ancien château de Mercoeur
Crédit photo : Fab5669 - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
fin XIIe siècle
Construction of the residence of the children of Mercœur
début XIIIe siècle
Building the dungeon
1481
Major damage to roofs
1716
Acquisition by Chavagnac
1728
Consecration of the chapel
20 janvier 1925
Historical monument classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Round: by order of 20 January 1925

Key figures

Seigneurs de Mercœur - Owners and original builders Founders of the castle in the 12th-XIIIth centuries.
Famille Chavagnac - Acquirers in 1716 Major transformations of the castle in the 18th century.
Sœurs de Saint-Joseph - 19th Century Managers Conversion into a convent and school.

Origin and history

The castle of Mercœur, also called the Twenty Angles Tower or House of the Children of Mercœur, is a fortress erected in several phases in the 12th and 13th centuries by the lords of Mercœur. The oldest part, the residence of the children of Mercœur, dates from the last quarter of the 12th century, while the emblematic donjon, rectangular and 26 meters high, was built at the beginning of the 13th century. This dungeon, reinforced by eight foothills and mâchicoulis worn by twin arches, originally had three floors, two of which were arched in a cradle. The materials used, such as basalt and arcose, reflect local resources.

In 1481, the roofs of the castle underwent major deterioration. At the beginning of the 18th century, in 1716, the castle was ceded with the seigneury of Blesle to the Chavagnac family, which undertook radical transformations: partial demolition of the fortifications and the southern house to build a new building, a garden, and a chapel consecrated in 1728. During the Revolution, although confiscated, the castle was not sold, but part of its northeast ramparts and the chapel were destroyed. The municipality of Blesle became its owner in 1845.

From then on, the castle houses the town hall, the gendarmerie, the prison and the school. In 1860, he was transformed into a convent and private school for girls by the sisters of Saint Joseph, with the addition of a floor. Around 1960, it returned to communal ownership. Today, it hosts the rural centre of promotion and orientation. The tower, classified as a historical monument in 1925, remains the most remarkable vestige of this medieval fortress, a witness to the architectural and social evolutions of Blesle over the centuries.

External links