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Origin and history

The castle of Fayrac, mentioned from the thirteenth century under the name of Afayrac or Affeyrac, was originally a modest strong house of which today only vaulted cellars and a round tower remain. In the 14th century, it belonged to the lords of Castelnaud, the family of Caumont, and served as a watchdog during the Hundred Years' War, supporting the English party in front of the nearby castle of Beynac, faithful to the king of France. At that time, he was referred to as "the towers of Fayrac" and was assigned in dowry in 1342 by Raoul de Caumont to his daughter.

In 1459, the castle was acquired by Léonard de Prouhet, a soldier rewarded by Jean de Châtillon, Count of Périgord, for his valour. He became lord of Fayrac after his marriage to the heir of the estate, and built an entrance castle with drawbridge in the 15th century. In the 16th century, under Raymond de Prouhet — Lieutenant-General of Sarlat's senate floor — the castle was embellished in an Italian Renaissance style, perhaps influenced by Nicolas Gaddi, bishop of contemporary Sarlat. A house is added, marking a period of major architectural transformation.

The estate then passes to the Blancher family (or Blanchier) through the marriage of the heiress of Prouhet with Jean de Blancher, adviser to the Presidial of Sarlat. During the Wars of Religion, the castle, held by Protestants, became a strategic issue. Jean de Blancher, seigneur of Fayrac and Protestant, joined the family of Vivans by his marriage to Simone, daughter of Geoffroy de Vivans, captain of Castelnaud. His brother Pierre, a Catholic and adviser to the Parliament of Bordeaux, was murdered in 1580 by "Religionaries", illustrating the religious tensions of the time.

In the 18th century, the castle remained in the Blancher family until the Revolution. In 1789, seized as a national good, it was sold to a confessor of Sarlat, Gayraud, who restored it after being enriched by speculation on assignats. In the 19th century, composer Fernand Fouant de La Tombelle, co-founder of the Schola Cantorum, became its owner and undertook important restorations. The castle briefly welcomed André Malraux in 1944, while he joined the Resistance.

Ranked among the "six castles" of the Dordogne valley with Beynac, Castelnaud or the Milanes, Fayrac has been listed as a historical monument since 1928. Although private property and closed to the public, its architecture combining medieval elements (round towers, drawbridge) and Renaissance (logis, turret in corbellation) bears witness to its turretous history, linked to local conflicts and the social transformations of the Périgord.

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