Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of La Force, located four kilometers from Saint-Simon in the Cantal, originates in a quadrangular tower built as a house of strength for the Abbé of Aurillac. This building, now in ruins, was backed by a rocky block overlooking a green meadow and the village of Rouffiac. Its walls, covered with ivy, contain lush vegetation that covers even the inside of the tower, accessible by stairs cut into the rock. The attenuated triangular terrace offers stunning views of the valley, river and wooded surroundings, creating a strategic and picturesque site.

Originally, La Force was a fief of the Abbé d'Aurillac. In 1395 the Damoiseau Guillaume de La Force was its lord. In the 15th century, the Cambon family (or Chambon) took possession of it: Raymond Cambon bought it in 1445, then his son Pierre inherited it in 1460, followed by Gérard in 1473. The seigneury then passed into the hands of the Trieu family in 1489, when Amaury Ier del Trieu, married to Jeanne del Cabrol, acquired it. His son Raymond, and then his grandson Amaury II succeeded each other until 1550, when Catherine II of the Trieu, Raymond's daughter, married Gabriel Saunier, an apothecary of Aurillac.

The seigneury changed hands again with alliances and inheritances. After the death of Gabriel Saunier around 1562, Catherine II managed the estate alone until 1582, when their daughter Anne de Saunier, married to Pierre de Parisot, became Lady of La Force. The Parisot family kept the castle until the beginning of the 18th century, during which time Pierre Piganiol, a bourgeois of Aurillac, became lord by his marriage to Marguerite de Parisot in 1681. Their son, Jean-Aimar Piganiol de La Force, governor of the pages of the Count of Toulouse, finally sold the castle in 1751 to Guy Delolm, seigneur of Lalaubie. The descendants of the latter possessed him until 1832, before he passed into the hands of Jean Saphary, then of M. Estarée.

The castle of La Force, although not visiting, remains an architectural testimony to the power struggles and family alliances that marked the local history of Cantal. Its present state of ruins, partially covered by vegetation, makes it a mysterious and evocative site, anchored in a preserved natural landscape. Historical sources, including the works of Jean-Baptiste de Ribier du Châtelet and André Muzac, allow us to accurately trace the estates of owners and the transformations of this mansion over the centuries.

In the 19th century, the castle gradually lost its residential role to become a simple land property. Jean Saphary, lecturer at the École normale supérieure, was one of the last notable owners before his resale. Today, the site does not visit but houses a rural gîte, perpetuating a life form linked to this historic place. The surrounding rocks and the dense vegetation surrounding it reinforce its isolated and poetic character, as described in the 19th century archives.

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