This Middle Ages construction, with its austere appearance, is perched on top of a limestone cliff, dominating the town and the north bank of the Dordogne River.

HISTORY

The castle was built from the 12th century by the barons of Beynac (one of the four baronies of Périgord) to close the valley. The sheer cliff face being sufficient to discourage any assault from that side, the defences were built up on the plateau: double crenellated walls, double moats, one of which was a deepened natural ravine, double barbican.

The oldest part of the castle is a large, square-shaped, Romanesque keep with vertical sides and few openings, held together with attached watch towers and equipped with a narrow spiral staircase terminating on a crenellated terrace. To one side, a residence of the same period is attached; it was remodelled and enlarged in the 16th and 17th centuries. On the other side is a partly 14th century residence side-by-side with a courtyard and a square plan staircase serving the 17th century apartments. The apartments have kept their woodwork and a painted ceiling from the 17th century. The Salle des États (States’ Hall) has a Renaissance sculptured fireplace and leads into a small oratory entirely covered with 15th century frescoes, included a Pietà, a Saint Christopher, and a Last Supper in which Saint Martial (first bishop of Limoges) is the maître d’hôtel.

At the time of the Hundred Years’ War, the fortress at Beynac was in French hands. The Dordogne was the border between France and England. Not far away, on the opposite bank of the river, the Château de Castelnau was held by the English. The Dordogne region was the theatre of numerous struggles for influence, rivalries and occasionally battles between the English and French supporters. However, the castles fell more often through ruse and intrigue rather than by direct assault, because the armies needed to take these castles were extremely costly: only the richest nobles and kings could procure them.

The castle was bought in 1962 by Lucien Grosso who has lovingly restored it.

Visitors to the castle can see sumptuous tapestries showing hunting and other scenes from the lives of the lords of the period. The Château de Beynac has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1944.

Beynac castle has served as a location for several films, including Les Visiteurs by Jean-Marie Poiré, in 1993, La Fille de d’Artagnan by Bertrand Tavernier, in 1994, Ever After by Andy Tennant, in 1998, and Jeanne d’Arc by Luc Besson, in 1999. The village of Beynac below the chateau, also served as a location for the film Chocolat by Lasse Hallström, in 2000.

Barons de Beynac

Recommended accommodation to visit Beynac:

 B&B Ferme de Tayac. Lovely B&B in a 12th Century former farmhouse / monastery situated ideally in the hart of the Vezere Valley and just 15 minutes from Château de Beynac
http://www.fermedetayac.com/

1. Lascaux II- Lascaux is considered to be the number one prehistoric site in all of Europe. The paintings on the site date from 17,000 to 15,000 years ago. Shortly after that the cave entrances were closed by mudslides or other natural means, and thus the paintings were perfectly preserved until the modern era. The cave was rediscovered in 1940 by two local boys who were chasing their dog, and several years later it was opened to the public. However, in 1963 it was closed again, as it was discovered that too many people in the cave were causing the paintings to deteriorate. Since then only a few scientists, scholars or art historians per day were allowed in for several hours maximum. For the past few years even those limited visits have been stopped, as new signs of further deterioration have been observed. The French government, however, took up a 10 year project to make an exact duplicate of the cave. This effort, which opened in 1983, uses exactly the same pigments that were used by the Cro-Magnon artists thousands of years ago, and is dimensionally accurate to less than one inch of error. It is called Lascaux II, and is located only about 400 yards from the original cave.

The quality of the artwork is the main reason that Lascaux is considered the finest example of prehistoric cave paintings. Done with only oil lamps for light and using high scaffolding, the prehistoric artists who created this site were highly accomplished artists. Most of the guided visits to Lascaux II are conducted in French, but there are tours in English on most days. One needs to call the Lascaux ticket office in Montignac or the Montignac Office of Tourism to find out if and when there is an English tour on any given day. If you have a group they will probably set up an English tour for you and other English speakers, but this needs to be arranged in advance through the ticket office. Even though Lascaux II is a replica and not the original, it is very well done, very informative, and not to be missed.

2. St. Leon sur Vezere- This is another of the “Most Beautiful Villages of France”. Built in a picturesque loop of the Vezere river, this charming village possesses two castles and one of the finest Romanesque churches of the Perigord. The church was part of a Benedictine priory which was founded in the 12th century. It was built on the ruins of a Gallo-Roman villa. The remains of one of the villa’s walls can be seen on the river side. There is a picnic area next to the church on the banks of the river, and a café is nearby as well. This is an excellent spot to have a pleasant lunch or a refreshing drink.

3. La Roque St. Christophe (St. Christopher’s Rock) is a huge Troglodyte cave complex. For about a half mile in length this majestic cliff rises vertically above the Vezere valley to a height of over 250ft. It is like a huge hive with about 100 caves hollowed out of the rock on five tiers. Excavations have proved that the cliff dwellings were inhabited from the Upper Paleolithic Age onwards. In the 10th century the cliff terraces served as the foundation for a fortress which was used against the Vikings, and again later during the Hundred Years War. It was subsequently destroyed during the Wars of Religion at the end of the 16th century. The self-guided tour explains the evolution of human life at La Roque St. Christophe, which took place over many centuries . In fact even Neanderthal fossils have been found at this site and at other locations nearby.

4. Chateau de Losse- This renaissance chateau sits on the right bank of the Vezere river, and it has a large terrace that overlooks the river and offers picturesque views. The chateau is well known for its excellent furniture and tapestries, which can be seen on the guided tours. The tours are in French, but foreign language guides are available, and these are easy to follow so one does not miss anything. The tours are quite good, and one can also visit the well kept gardens and stroll around the outside of the chateau in the former moat area.

As stated earlier, these four venues in the Vezere Valley between Les Eyzies de Tayac and Montignac can easily be visited in one day, since they are relatively close and do not take too long to visit any of them. If one is staying nearby, in Les Eyzies de Tayac, for example, only about 25 kilometers away, a visit to these sites is well worth the effort.

Our recommended accommodation to visit these 4 venues:
B&B Ferme de Tayac. Lovely B&B in a 12th Century former farmhouse / monastery situated ideally in Les Eyzies de Tayac, the hart of the Vezere Valley and within 20 minutes from all of these attractions.
http://www.fermedetayac.com/

Perched with hillside on left bank of the Dordogne, Castelnaud dominates the small borough coiled with its feet. Its former owners, vassal of kings of England, opposed a long time to their neighbors, the lords de Beynac, faithful to kings de France. If the protagonists of these remote quarrels have all disappeared, the two fortresses always continue their immutable face to face, like a mineral challenge with the lapse of memory and the ravages of time.

History

English Castelnaud After the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1259 by Saint Louis and Henry III, which put an end to the dispute between the Capetians and the Plantagenets, the Perigord was restored to the English. Castelnaud thus fell under English rule. In 1273 the castle reverted back to the legitimate feudal line, that of the Castelnauds, who gave tribute to the Count of Perigord, vassal of the king of France.The power of a FortressFor Castelnaud, the end of the 13th century heralded in a period of prosperity and relative calm. The castle established itself as one of the principle powers of the Perigord. The barons of Beynac during this epoch were semi-permanently in conflict with the lords of Castelnaud. Continuously the two rival houses contested control of the region, trailing after them a section of the Perigord nobility divided by the two camps. The two castles watched and spied on each other. Never, however, did an open battle occur. In 1317 the Pope himself intervened to prevent the worst from happening; Jean XXII authorized a marriage between the two families to try and put an end to the endemic conflict. This context of private feud, so common in the Middle Ages, was soon relegated to a position of secondary importance: in 1337 the Hundred Years’ War broke out.

 The Hundred Years’ War

The first few decades of the war were favorable to the English. In 1346 at Crecy, the cream of French nobility was decimated by English archers. In 1356, King John the Good was taken prisoner at Poitiers. The Treaty of Bretigny-Calais freed the king but ceded Aquitaine to the English, which was from then on ruled by the formidable Black Prince.In 1368, Magne de Castelnaud, sole heiress of Castelnaud, married Nompar de Caumont. This was a major event for Castelnaud, as the Caumonts would subsequently continue to be proprietors of the castle until the Revolution. During the War, the Caumonts were often in the English camp. Henry IV, King of England, named Nompar de Caumont his seneschal for Agen.

State of SiegeIn 1442, tired of the English hold on Castelnaud, the King of France ordered the town put under siege. The siege lasted three weeks. The English commander ended it by giving the keys to the castle and 400 crowns for his life. Thus the English were finally driven from Castelnaud. They left French soil after the battle of Castillon (1452) which marked the end of the Hundred Year’s War.

Pleasure Residence After a century black with wars, epidemics and hardships, a great period of prosperity unfolded for Castelnaud.
The castle’s reconstruction was begun by Brandelis de Caumont and followed by his son François and his grandson Charles. The old 13th century fortress took on a look that conformed more to the style of the times. François de Caumont, besides enlarging Castelnaud, built a pleasant Renaissance-style manor not far from Castelnaud: Milandes Castle.
Castelnaud, which no longer had a strategic purpose, became a pleasure residence. It was fortified because of its prestigious function as the center of power of the domain.
The imposing artillery tower, built around 1520, had no function other than that of a symbol of power.

The Huguenot Captain

A new chapter in the history of Castelnaud opened with the Huguenot Captain Geoffroy de Vivans. Soldier, companion of the future Henry IV, his life was punctuated by audacious actions which earned him a great reputation in the country. Geoffroy the warrior was feared throughout the Perigord, a reputation which assured that Castelnaud was never disturbed during the Wars of Religion.

Ruins and renaissanceBetween the exploits of Captain Vivans and the 20th century, the castle did not live through any other remarkable events. The Caumont lords preferred Milandes first, then their castle of the Force near Bergerac. The condition of Castelnaud continued to deteriorate until it was completely abandoned. After the Revolution the deterioration accelerated. Soon the castle served as no more than a stone quarry.1969 / 1998 : The Renaissance of CastelnaudIn 1966, Castelnaud Castle was classed as an Historic Monument. Since then, it has undergone two periods of extensive restoration: between 1974-1980 and from 1996-1998. Certain parts of the castle which had collapsed were reconstructed, other parts were only consolidated due to the lack of information regarding their original state. 

Our recommended accommodation to visit Castelnaud:
B&B Ferme de Tayac. Lovely B&B in a 12th Century former farmhouse / monastery situated ideally in the hart of the Vezere Valley and just 15 minutes from Castelnaud
http://www.fermedetayac.com/