Château de Villemoleix dans la Creuse

Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Villemoleix, located in Chambon-sur-Voueize in the Creuse (Nouvelle-Aquitaine), is an ancient seigneurial residence attested from the 15th century. Its architecture includes a four-level housing body, a crenellated square tower and an surrounding pond. The estate also includes agricultural buildings and remains of an old rectangular building.

The dovecote, dating back to the 15th century and listed as a historical monument in 2010, is a remarkable 5.5-metre-high building decorated with sculptures (fleurs de lilies, human and animal heads). Its 445 stone bolts, arranged diagonally, bear witness to its medieval use. This dovecote, implanted in the lower yard, is one of the few classified elements of the site.

In 1960, a Hurel-Dubois HD-321 aircraft, an experimental prototype used by the French secret service for missions behind the Iron Curtain, crashed on the estate at the end of landing. The carling, always visible, attracts enthusiasts of history and aeronautics. The current owner permits photographic visits and retains the parts of the aircraft, although a flight is impossible.

The castle, now on the edge of the local airfield, thus blends medieval heritage and remains of the Cold War. Its dovecote and wreck of the HD-321 make it an unusual site, at the crossroads of seigneurial history and secret operations of the twentieth century.

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