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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Commarque, built in the 12th century at the request of the abbots of Sarlat, was initially a wooden tower designed to secure the valley, a crossroads of commercial roads between Périgueux-Cahors and Brive-Bergerac. Gérard de Commarque, one of the first Hospital Knights, began his construction before going on a crusade in 1116, transferring his property to order. The site evolved into a semi-troglodytic castrum with dungeon, chapel and tower houses occupied by noble families such as the Beynac, the Ashtray or the La Chapelle.

In the 14th century, Beynac's family, faithful to the crown of France, strengthened the castle against the English during the Hundred Years' War. The stone dungeon, enhanced in 1380 and crowned with machicolis, became their seigneurial home. Despite the English catch in 1406, the Beynacs kept the site until the 17th century. The decline began after the Wars of Religion (Catholic takeover in 1569) and the collapse of the vaulted hall. Abandoned in the 18th century, the castle fell into ruins, even serving as a stone quarry in the early 20th century.

Purchased in 1968 by Hubert de Commarque, descendant of the lineage, the site was cleared of vegetation and consolidated. Since 1994, restoration campaigns have revealed masonries dating from the twelfth to seventeenth centuries. Under the castle, the prehistoric cave of Commarque, discovered in 1915 by Abbé Henri Breuil, houses 150 Magdalenian engravings (15 000 years) and has been classified since 1924. The castrum, which has been open to the public since 2000, attracts 60,000 annual visitors (2022) and serves as a setting for films such as Les Duelistes (1977) or the Fortune de France series (2023).

Architecturally, the castle illustrates the medieval military adaptation: camped on a rocky spur, it combines ditches carved in the rock, double dungeon, mâchicoulis courtines and cluzeaux (troglodytic refuges). The chapel overlooks the entrance, while the noble houses, lined with hillsides, testify to a complex feudal organization. Studies from the 1990s–2000s have shown that there have been recaptures of masonry related to conflicts (Cent Years, Religions) and changes in owners (Hospitaliers, Beynac).

The site, classified as Historical Monument in 1943, also embodies an intangible heritage: it inspired writer Robert Merle for Fortune de France, novel on the wars of Religion in Périgord. Today, Aude de Commarque perpetuates the work of his father, Hubert, combining preservation, tourism (medieval animations, exhibitions) and archaeological research. The cave offers a unique dialogue between prehistory and the Middle Ages, highlighting the historical stratification of the site.

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