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Origin and history

Murat Castle is a medieval building in ruins located in the municipality of Murat, in the department of Allier (region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes). Built on a rocky promontory, it was protected by seven towers, including six rounds, and two inner courtyards: a lower courtyard and the dungeon. Its enclosure, in the form of an irregular trapeze, married the contours of the terrain. An imposing dungeon stood at the northeast end of which remains a vaulted hall.

Attested from the 11th century by an act of Archambaud III of Bourbon, the castle was strengthened in the 13th century then by Duke Louis II. He served as residence for historical figures such as Béatrice de Bourgogne, lady of Bourbon, who died there in 1310, or Isabelle de Valois, wife of Duke Pierre I. However, the fortress was never modernized for comfort and ceased to be a ducal residence.

After the capture of the Duchy of Bourbon on the connétable de Bourbon, the castle was dismantled in the 16th century and given to Chancellor Duprat. It gradually fell into ruins, as Nicolas de Nicolay noted. The seigneury then passed into the hands of the Zamet family, notably Sébastien Zamet, Italian financier, and then to his descendants. The site was listed as historical monuments in 1930.

Murat Castle was the seat of a ducal, then royal, châtellenie du Bourbonnais. This administrative role was transferred to Montmarault in the 18th century. Today, the remains of the castle, surrounded by bushes, recall its strategic and historical importance in the region.

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