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Origin and history

The castle of Caussade, located in Trélissac, Dordogne, has its origins in a much older fief than the current building. From the 12th century, it belonged to the Vigier family, vigoiers de Puy-Saint-Front in Périgueux, and served as a strategic point in the defensive system set up by Bishop Froutaire (977-991). The castle was an issue of power, especially in 1386, when Archambaud V, Count of Périgord, tried to seize it. Jeanne de Vigier, heir of the fief, remarried with Henri de Cugnac, a supporter of the English, to protect his lands during the Hundred Years War.

The building of the present castle dates from the 15th century, after the end of the Hundred Years War. The Cugnac, the new owner family, marked the history of the place, notably John III of Cugnac, a fiery Huguenot, who participated in the capture of Périgueux by the Protestants in 1575. The castle changed hands several times, passing from Cugnac to La Marthonia, before being sold to private owners in the 19th century. During the two world wars, he served respectively as a detention centre for German officers and as a gathering place for the resistance.

Architecturally, the castle is distinguished by its polygonal enclosure flanked by four square towers, one of which houses the house body. The courtines, crowned with mâchicoulis, and partially filled moats recall its defensive role. Ranked a historic monument in 1945, it was restored after the storm of 1999 and knew various owners, including Americans, before being acquired by Julio Ceron Ayuso. The castle was also the setting of an episode of Arsène Lupin in 1973.

The archives reveal prolonged conflicts between the lords of Caussade and the bourgeois of Périgueux, particularly around the rights of justice. In 1514, John II of Cugnac gave these rights to the city against 500 books tournaments, marking a turning point in the legal history of the fief. The Wars of Religion also left their mark, with the capture of the castle by Catholics after the Battle of Sorges, forcing John III of Cugnac to abjure Protestantism.

The castle of Caussade thus illustrates feudal struggles, changing political alliances and architectural transformations in the Périgord, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era. Its history reflects regional upheavals, from Anglo-French conflicts to the wars of Religion, industrial revolutions and the two world wars.

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