Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Lesdiguières was built in the 3rd quarter of the 16th century (ca. 1580) by François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières, the last connetable of France. This emblematic monument of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, located in the Hautes-Alpes, reflected the power of its sponsor, a major figure in the religious wars and royal politics under Henry IV. The chapel, added around 1604, completed the whole, which occupied an area of 14,000 m2 (including 7,000 m2 for the castle alone).

In 1692 the mercenaries of the Duke of Savoie ravaged the area, burning the castle of Lesdiguières and that of Tallard. The ruins, gradually looted, suffered further outrages during the French Revolution (1789), when the tombs were desecrated and the mausoleum of the connetable transferred to preserve it. Detailed surveys, carried out by engineer Janson des Fontaines in 1827, document the state of the site before its classification as a historical monument in 1978.

Today, the remains of the castle, listed in the inventory of historical monuments, recall both Renaissance military architecture and the tumults of regional history. Their location in Le Glaizil (code Insee 05062), near Gap, makes it a key site for understanding the legacy of Franco-Savoyard conflicts and the evolution of the castral heritage in the Southern Alps.

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