Purchase by the municipality 2022 (≈ 2022)
Rehabilitation project launched (€3.6 million).
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Capitaine Pouch - Huguenot chef
Transforming the church into a fortress (wars of Religion).
Seigneur de Losse - Catholic Commander
Reprinted the besieged command office.
Origin and history
The Commandery of Condat, often called "Château de Condat", is an ancient possession of the order of Saint John of Jerusalem, located in the town of Condat-sur-Vézère (Dordogne, New Aquitaine). Certified as Hospitalis de Condato in 1239, it served as a strong house for the commander, a tithe barn, a pilgrim hospital and a hospital. It was the largest command office in the Périgord, active from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. Its donjon, a square tower with mâchicoulis dated from the 15th century, is the most important medieval vestige, joined to a house of the 16th century.
During the Wars of Religion (16th century), Huguenot Pouch turned the church into a fortress, besieged and then taken over by the Lord of Losse. The site changed hands several times during these conflicts, then during the Fronde. Sold as a national property at the Revolution, part of the premises was converted into mill and mill in the 19th century. In the 21st century, the buildings, disused and closed to the public, still house a parish church with a bell tower typical of the region.
The dungeon was listed as a historic monument in 1948, followed in 2012 by an expanded inscription covering the house, tower, outbuildings, mill, common oven and surrounding plots. In 2022, the commune of Condat-sur-Vézère bought the command office for a rehabilitation project estimated at €3.6 million. Its name Condate (confluent) comes from its position at the confluence of the Coly and the Vézère, although the Coly is no longer visible today.
Construction periods range from the 12th century (probable foundation) to the mid 16th century (restoration around 1540), with defensive elements added in the 14th and 16th centuries. The commandery depended on the language of Provence within the hospital order. After the Revolution, the moats were filled, and the roof was redone in Brive slate. Today, the site mixes medieval ruins, redesigned buildings and a church still in operation, bearing witness to nearly nine centuries of history.
