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Origin and history

Châteaubourg Castle, located in the department of Ardèche, has its origins in the 11th century, although the first structures attested date back to the 12th and 13th centuries. Built on a rocky eminence overlooking the Rhone, it originally belonged to the Clérieux family, mentioned in 1186. His strategic role is underlined by the episode of 1248, where King Louis IX, en route to the crusade, stayed there after having besieged the nearby castle of La Roche-de-Glun, whose lord Rogier II de Clérieux was executed for opposition to the king.

The seigneury of Châteaubourg passed successively into the hands of the Clérieux until the 14th century, with Guichard, the last male heir, marking the end of their lineage. The fief was then passed on to Aymar V de Poitiers and then to his nephew in 1358. In 1403 the castle changed hands through a sale to the lord of the Faye, who became the king's chamberlain in 1406. In the 15th century, the family of Chalencon took possession of it by marriage, before the wars of Religion damaged the site, targeted by the Huguenots.

In the 18th century, the castle had several transactions: sold in 1717 to the Count of Maurigon, then in 1734 to the Count of Montléans (death without heir in 1764), it was sold for 50,000 pounds in 1777. The French Revolution marked a turning point, with the renunciation of the village in " Rochebourg" to erase its feudal past. In 1821, parish priest Lapassa described a deraped building, requiring 6,000 francs of repairs. Turned into a hotel-restaurant in 1973, he retained medieval elements such as a drawbridge and a prison.

Architecturally, the castle housed a lower courtyard with a place of worship, reflecting its dual religious and defensive role. The sources also mention seigneurial arrangements, such as instructions for work given to a Mr. Dupaillé. Despite historical vicissitudes, the site remains a testimony to feudal dynamics and religious conflicts in Ardèche.

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