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Origin and history

The castle of the Ternes, located in the Cantal, finds its origins in the 11th century as a strategic place, before being rebuilt in the 15th century after its destruction by the English in 1383. The current building, with a plan massed with a round road on machicolis, is flanked by a tower of southwest corner and an east stair tower. His history was linked to two noble families: the Lastic (heirs of the Henrys) and the d-Espinchal (heirs of the Terns), allies on several occasions, as evidenced by the marriage in 1573 between Madeleine d-Espinchal and Jean de Lastic.

In the 17th century, the seigneury passed to the Fontanges through the marriage of Gasparde d'Espinchal with Jean de Fontanges in 1665, before being sold in 1736 to the Rouillon de Spy family, originally from Lorraine. The latter, established in Saint-Flour, takes its name and retains the castle until the 18th century. The last owner, bereaved by the death of his son, bequeathed the estate to the diocese of Saint-Flour in 1899 to found a novitiate to train teachers of rural schools.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the castle was acquired in 1909 by Alfred Douet, who undertook an ambitious restoration with architect Émile Lemaigre-Dubreuil. The latter reinterprets the medieval style by adding a north-east tower, a crenellated wall, and neogothic interior decorations inspired by the Metamorphoses of Ovid. The gardens, built in 1910 by landscape architect Treyve, combine a French route with an Anglo-Chinese space. Ranked a historic monument in 2008, the castle has belonged to the commune since 1974 and is visited in summer.

The history of the castle reflects the seigneurial alliances from the 14th to the 18th century, marked by complex inheritances between the Lastic, the D-Espinchal, and the Fontanges. The confiscation of the property of Gaspard d'Espinchal (convicted to death in 1665) and the subsequent sale illustrate the political upheavals of the Old Regime. In the 19th century, its transformation into a novitiate emphasized its social role, before the restorations of the 20th century made it a symbol of local heritage, combining medieval authenticity and romantic reinterpretations.

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