Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Monthimer Castle, located in Belforêt-en-Perche in Orne, has its origins in the 2nd quarter of the 15th century, although most of the elements visible today date back to the 16th, 18th and 19th centuries. The cylindrical tower, the oldest vestige, is crowned with machicolis and pierced by a flamboyant door dated 1506, although its exact construction remains debated. Originally, its access was through a drawbridge poterne on the first floor, and its interior houses a spiral screw staircase without a central core, typical of medieval fortifications.

In the middle of the 16th century, a square house was erected, of which today a south-east gable and a rear pavilion remain. Major works at the end of the 16th century (especially in 1581) added a pavilion on the south façade, substantially modifying the mansion. The 18th and 19th centuries saw other transformations, including a structure dated 1742 (classified in 1975) and a neo-medieval and Hispano-Mauresque recast at the end of the 19th century, giving the castle its current eclectic appearance.

The tower, classified since 1975 for its facades and roofs, illustrates the architectural evolution of the site, combining medieval defense (murder, watchtower niches) and Renaissance embellishments. The estate, initially girded by an enclosure whose tower is the last witness, is located on the edge of the forest of Bellême, in a historical landscape linked to the former commune of La Perrière, now integrated in Belforêt-en-Perche.

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