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Origin and history

The castle of the Force, located in the Dordogne department in New Aquitaine, was built between 1604 and 1614 for Jacques Nompar de Caumont, Baron then Duke of La Force, a Protestant and Marshal gentleman from France under Louis XIII. The building, designed by the architect Pierre Boisson, was inspired by Florentine palaces, with a stone structure of Bussac and dardian roofs. The work, initially supported by royal promises, was slowed down after the assassination of Henry IV in 1610, depriving Caumont of the expected funding. The parterre à la française was designed by Jacques Boyceau de la Barauderie, while an anonymous Parisian artist made interior decorations.

In 1622, the castle was besieged by Charles de Guise-Lorraine, Duke of Elbeuf, marking his strategic role during the religious tensions of the time. He suffered a sharp decline in 1793, when he was sacked by order of the representative of the Lakanal people, then on a mission to Bergerac. Most of the buildings were demolished to serve as a quarry, leaving only the central pavilion of the stables, known as Pavillon des Receipts, classified as a historic monument in 1932. The Protestant temple dedicated to the castle, as well as the bell of the campanile – today at the church of Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur de Bergerac – escaped destruction.

The current remains include three attic window frames, visible near the pavilion, and a commemorative plaque bearing the names of five members of the Caumont family, including Jacques Nompar, founder of the castle. Funeral elements and an inscription of 1604, linked to its construction, have been preserved at the Périgueux Museum since 1886. An 18th century engraving, preserved in 1793, bears witness to its original appearance, while archives mention a French-style garden and an alley of chestnut trees leading to the missing building.

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