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Origin and history

Crussol Castle is a medieval fortress built at the beginning of the 12th century on the town of Saint-Péray, in Ardèche. Built on a rocky spur at a height of more than 200 meters, it overlooks the Rhône Valley and the city of Valencia, controlling a historic river axis and a route of the pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela. The site, lined with ramparts and extending over 3 hectares, includes a fortified village ("La Villette") and an iconic tower. It is classified as Natura 2000 with protected flora and fauna, including 40 orchid species and Mediterranean raptors.

The first castle, mentioned in a 12th century cartular, was a wooden dungeon surrounded by a palisade. After a fire, it was rebuilt in stone by Gérold Bastet and was used to monitor the trade route between the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Gerold, ancestor of the Crussol family, had inherited the site by marriage with the heirs of Aldebert and Guillaume de Crussol, cited in an act of 1152. The Vivarais, attached to the crown of France in 1300, sees the castle abandoned in the 15th century in favor of the castle of Charmes, more comfortable.

The wars of religion temporarily gave importance to Crussol, taken and burned several times. In 1629 Louis XIII ordered his dismantling to pacify the region. The site then suffered collateral damage: partial collapse in 1855 due to a quarry explosion, the destruction of a scallop by lightning in 1952, and a collapse in 2014. Ranked a historic monument in 1927, its ruins are today owned by the municipality of Guilherand-Granges, although located on Saint-Péray. The site hosts cultural events, such as the Crussol Festival (since 2017), combining music and ecology, and an annual medieval festival.

The Crussol mountain, occupied since ancient times, housed a Roman temple dedicated to Mars. In the fifth century, a first fortified complex in the south was abandoned for the present site. The castle, symbol of the seigneurial power of the Crussols, sees its decline accelerated by the gradual abandonment in favor of more modern residences. The community of communes Rhône-Crussol works to rehabilitate it, while preserving its exceptional ecosystem, protected by French law.

The site, classified among the 18 remarkable natural sites of the Ardèche, combines historical and natural heritage. Its steppic lawns, oak trees and limestone boulders house 7 species of birds and 19 protected animals. The ruins, open to the public, offer a panorama of the Rhododian plain and bear witness to medieval defensive architecture, with its dungeon, ramparts and its intramural village where artisans and traders lived.

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