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Origin and history

The castle of Bannes, located on a rocky spur at Beaumont-du-Périgord (Dordogne), is mentioned for the first time in the 14th century. Its name would come from the Celtic banne (corn/pointe), evoking its geographical position. The site was probably occupied as early as the 5th century, as attests the legend of Saint Avit evoking a vicus (village) at this site. Sarcophagus and a Roman currency (Vespasian) discovered around 1840 confirm an ancient occupation.

At the beginning of the 15th century, the castle was a strategic issue during the Hundred Years War. In 1409, Ramonet de Sorts, English captain of Castelnaud, captured and hunted the Marquise d'Esclamat. In 1417, Jean de Lot was prisoner before being released by Pierre de Bosredon. In 1442, the troops of the Count of Périgord and the local lords (including Beynac and Turenne) laid siege to Bannes, who was dismantled after his surrender. The remaining walls are reused for further reconstruction.

The reconstruction began around 1510 under Brandelis de Gontaut-Biron, assisted by his uncle Armand, bishop of Sarlat. The works, completed around 1515, include Renaissance elements such as the monumental chimney decorated with the monograms of Louis XII and Anne de Bretagne (LA). The southern tower, known as Henry IV, includes an earlier medieval tower. The castle then passed to François de Gontaut-Biron, wounded in Cerisoles (1544), then to his widow Françoise de Salignac, remarried to Antoine de la Reynie.

In 1571 John II of Losse, lieutenant-general of Guyenne, acquired Bannes. In 1575 he escaped an attempted assassination by Protestants in the castle. Losse's family kept it until 1882, when it was sold to the Fayolle du Moustier. Restored in 1882 and acquired by M. Lemasson in 1960, it is now owned by Franky Mulliez (founder of Kiloutou). Ranked a historic monument in 2002, it is distinguished by its 5 towers with machicoulis, its 18th century dovecoier, and its interior decorations (frescoes, stairs, fireplaces).

The architecture mixes medieval defense (barbacan, drawbridge, mâchicoulis) and Renaissance elegance (dissymmetric columns, stair turrets). The inner courtyard, surrounded by conical towers, houses rooms with painted ceilings. The entrance gate, decorated with flowers of lilies and hermines, recalls the links with the crown. Although private property and non-visitable, Bannes remains a major testimony of the transition between Middle Ages and Renaissance in Périgord.

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