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Origin and history

The Château de Montguerlhe, founded in the 11th century, is a former primitive military structure located at 829 m above sea level on a plateau at the border of Sainte-Agathe, Escoutoux and Celles-sur-Durolle, near Thiers (Puy-de-Dôme). Its name, originally from Auvergne (guerlhar: "goetter" or "watch"), reflects its primary function: a control tower on the strategic road Clermont-Lyon, known as "iron road", essential for the supply of Dauphinese minerals to the cutlery of Thiernois. The nearby granite quarries, still visible, attest to the local extraction of stones for its construction.

The first written mention of the castle dates back to 1312 (Charter of Vollore). Initially linked to the seigneury of Thiers (XI-14th centuries), he then passed to the lords of Vollore until the Revolution. Active until the 16th century, it was maintained until 1552 (delivery of tiles) before being declared in ruins in 1610. Despite its abandonment, seigneurial rights (species, taxes) were collected until 1789. From the Revolution to the 20th century, its stones served as a quarry for local constructions, accelerating its degradation.

Architecturally, this Romanesque castle was characterized by a square master tower (northwest), symbol of seigneurial power, and three concentric enclosures, the most external of which reaches 1 km of perimeter. Its defensive system, primitive (fossed, sloped, thin walls), suggests a gradual decline in favour of the nearby Fermouy estate, which is more comfortable. The current remains — motte, foundations, west wall — reveal a structure little modified between the 11th and 16th centuries, dedicated to the surveillance and economic control via the toll of the "Haute du Peage", below.

The site, now in ruins, preserves traces of medieval extraction techniques: step-cut rocks, notches aligned with granite cracks, and pelvis stones linked to carrier methods. These elements corroborate an autarchic construction in the 11th century, using local resources. Although his military role has declined, Montguerlhe remains a key testimony of the feudal organization in the Thierno countries, mixing seigneurial power, iron economy, and road strategy in the Middle Ages.

Inspired by literary works (The Night of the All Saints of Eugene Marchand, 1862; The Master of the Bread of Lucy Achalme, 1908, the castle is also studied for its local history, notably by Alexandre Bigay (Le Vieux Thiers, 1947) and Jean-Luc Kristos (1987). Its present state, though fragmentary, makes it a historical place of walk and a subject of interpretation for archaeologists, especially on the exact function of its third enclosure (village, parcellar, or defense).

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