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Origin and history

The Château-Rocher, also named castle of Blot-le-Rocher, is a medieval building in ruins located in Saint-Rémy-de-Blot, in Puy-de-Dôme. Built at an altitude of 438 metres on a cliff overlooking the Sioule, it was tasked with controlling the valley and the Menat bridge, a strategic passageway. A castral motte, built in the 9th century, preceded the first fortress erected at the end of the 11th century. Its development began between the 13th and 15th centuries, after the conquest of Auvergne by Philippe Auguste.

The land of Blot was given by Archambaud IV to his son Pierre de Bourbon, known as Pierre de Blot, in 1169. The lineage of the Blots, founded by the latter, joined the Chauvignys in the 14th century through the marriage of Catherine de Blot with Guillemin de Chauvigny. In 1365, during the Hundred Years War, the roadman Bertucat d'Albret, an ally of the English, took the castle and looted it. The widow of Jean de Chauvigny de Blot, Marguerite de Saligny, asked the Duke of Berry to help him.

In the 15th century, improvement works were still carried out, but the castle lost its strategic role as early as the 16th century, when Pierre de Chauvigny de Blot built a more accessible residence at Blot-l Gradually abandoned, it was classified as a historical monument in 1913 thanks to Marie Adélaïde Delpoux de Nafines, the last owner. Since 1964, the Association Château-Rocher has worked to consolidate it and offers guided tours in summer.

Access to the castle was achieved by a complex defensive system: a first door in the lower courtyard, a mobile bridge crossing a ditch, and then a barbacan leading to the main entrance. Three towers completed this device. Today, the ruins reveal remains like terracotta pipes, probably linked to a tank. The site, free of charge and open all year round, offers torch visits in July and August.

Archaeological excavations and studies, such as those carried out by Mathias Dupuis in 2009, provided a better understanding of the architectural evolution of the castle between the 13th and 20th centuries. Historical sources, including the works of Yves Devaux (1980) and the archives of the local association, document its regional importance. The castle illustrates the military and seigneurial stakes of the medieval Auvergne, between feudal conflicts and Hundred Years' War.

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