Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Castle of Crozant is an ancient medieval fortress built at the end of the 12th century, then remodeled in the 13th and 15th centuries. Its remains, perched on a rocky ridge between Creuse and Sedelle, illustrate its major defensive role. The site, occupied from the protohistory, houses a charter mentioning the castle for the first time between 1200 and 1210, linked to the development of the neighbouring village. A tower bears the name of Isabelle of Angoulême, wife of Hugues X of Lusignan, Count of the March, who would have built it in the thirteenth century.

The Counts of the March, including the Lusignans and the Bourbons, shaped fortifications in the 13th and 15th centuries. In 1347, the castle was reinforced in the face of the English threat during the Hundred Years War. In 1356 he resisted the riding of the Black Prince, although the village was ransacked. In the 16th century, the wars of Religion and progressive abandonment transformed the fortress into a stone quarry as early as 1606, as evidenced by the records of 1640.

Ranked a historic monument in 1997, the site is now preserved by a joint union between the commune, the Creuse department and the community of communes. It is at the heart of the Valley of Painters, a territory that has inspired Impressionist artists like Armand Guillaumin. The ruins include a 15th-century dungeon, two 13th-century towers, a chapel and the water tower, an ingenious system for drawing water covered.

The castle also marked the literature: George Sand, after a visit with Chopin in 1830, made it a vibrant description in Mr. Local legends, such as the Rock of the Yarns or the Charraud bridge built by the devil, add a mythical dimension to the site. Finally, a comic book, Les Eagles decapitées, is freely inspired by its history.

The list of the lords of Crozant, from the Géraud de Crosenc (XI century) to the Bourbon-Montpensier (XVI century), reflects its strategic importance. After 1527, the estate passed to the Crown before being acquired by the Foucault family of Saint-Germain-Beaupré in 1646. Today, conservation campaigns aim to enhance this emblematic heritage of the Limousin and Berry.

Excavations and studies also reveal a Neolithic habitat, the oldest known in Limousin, as well as occupations in the Bronze, Iron and Gallo-Roman era. These archaeological strata highlight the historical continuity of this exceptional site, between steep nature and human heritage.

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