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Origin and history

The cenotaph of Bertrand du Guesclin is a memorial located in the hamlet of l'Habitarelle in Châteauneuf-de-Randon, Occitanie. He paid tribute to Bertrand du Guesclin, a connetable of France who died in 1380 during the siege of the city against the English. This place symbolizes the surrender of the English, who placed the keys to the city on his coffin. The monument was first erected in 1828 thanks to a national subscription, with a blue limestone gissant reproducing that of the Basilica Saint-Denis.

The first building, of parallelepipedic shape, did not resist time. It was replaced in 1911 by a granite mausoleum designed by Lebas and completed in 1927. This new monument presents a sarcophagus resting on four pillars, surmounted by a dais housing the gisting. In 1980, he was replaced by a zinc sculpture by Philippe Kaeppelin. The cenotaph, classified as a historic monument in 1911, bears three inscriptions recalling its history and construction.

Châteauneuf-de-Randon, former Barony of Gevaudan, was the scene of a key episode of the Hundred Years War. The first stone of the monument was laid in 1820, but its construction did not begin until 1828, according to the plans of Lanave. The site, located on a terrace accessible by stairs, remains a national place of memory, celebrating the heroic figure of Du Guesclin and resistance to the English.

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