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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château d'Estresses, also called Château d'Estresse or Olim Dextricios, is located in the town of Astaillac, in Corrèze, on the banks of the Dordogne. Its first constructions date back to the 16th and 17th centuries, although sources evoke partial origin in the 15th century. The building, rectangular, consists of a house body flanked by two square towers, supported by a imposing medieval wall of 200 meters long and 8 meters high, partly immersed. Its park is home to two millennia, and the site underwent major modifications in the early 20th century, after a period of post-World War I abandonment.

The history of the castle is linked to major conflicts: in 889 King Eudes of France arrested Norman pirates going up the Dordogne to plunder Beaulieu and its surroundings. In 931 Rodolphe, Duke of Burgundy, rejected a new Norman incursion in the Battle of Estresse. In 1356 the troops of the Black Prince (son of Edward III of England) were also repulsed, protecting the area from looting. These events highlight its strategic role in local defence.

The castle was listed for historical monuments on 15 October 1971 for its facades and roofs. After being bought and restored by the Lescure family in the 20th century, he changed hands in September 2023, sold to Mr. Renaud Dumont, descendant of a branch of the aristocratic family of Lestrade de Conti, historically located in Périgord. Notable architectural elements include bows, gunboats, and a circular turret, reflecting its military adaptations.

Historical owners include the Roquet family, a bourgeois of Beaulieu whose members were consuls of the city in the Middle Ages. The castle thus illustrates both the feudal history of the Corrèze and the architectural transformations of modern and contemporary eras.

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