The château de Sainte-Alvère, also known as the château de Lostanges is a medieval castle in the town of

Sainte-Alvère Sainte-Alvère (; oc, Senta Alvèra) is a town and former commune in the Dordogne department in southwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Sainte-Alvère-Saint-Laurent Les Bâtons, which merged into the new commu ...

, in the commune of

Val de Louyre et Caudeau Val de Louyre et Caudeau is a commune in the department of Dordogne, southwestern France. It was established on 1 January 2017 by the merger of the former communes of Cendrieux and ''Sainte-Alvère-Saint-Laurent, Les Bâtons''. ''Sainte-Alvère-Sai ...

in the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Dordogne, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France.

History

A first lord, Pierre de Limeuil, was mentioned in 1284. In 1448, the castle came into the possession of the Lostanges family, who owned it until the French Revolution. In 1778, the castle was described as "vast, surrounded by a beautiful moat flanked by beautiful towers, and surrounded by walls that in the past may have been its defence". In 1795, a large part of the castle was demolished, as ordered by Joseph Lakanal, administrator of the Dordogne department.

Architecture

Of the castle and its enclosure, several remains have survived. The ''tour maîtresse'' (master tower) is the only remnant of the actual castle. It is a circular tower high with a diamter of , composed of four levels. Often referred to as a

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

, it is actually not the original main tower of the 13th century castle, but a more modest tower from the late 15th century, endowed with gunholes. The gatehouse is a high rectangular tower. It provided access to the castle by means of a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...

. Currently, the gatehouse is undergoing restoration. The ''tour des dames'' (ladies' tower) is located at the north-west corner of the enclosure. The gendarmerie tower is located at the northermost part of the enclosure, close to the former

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

building. Like the ladies' tower, its ground plan is horseshoe-shaped. The north-east tower has a horseshoe-shaped ground plan, flattened at the salient. It has a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

which may date from the 17th century. The dovecote is a small tower is located not far from the south-east corner of the enclosure, and has several pigeonholes.

Protection

The castle has been inscribed as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' by the French Ministry of Culture since 1948.

Gallery

Sainte Alvère - Tour maîtresse.jpg, The master tower Sainte Alvère - Châtelet.jpg, The gatehouse or ''châtelet'' Sainte Alvère - Tour des dames.jpg, The ladies' tower Sainte Alvère - Tour de la gendarmerie.jpg, The gendarmerie tower Sainte-Alvère tour avenue Jules Ferry - 2016a.jpg, The north-east tower Sainte Alvère - Pigeonnier.jpg, The dovecote

Reference

Bibliography

* Anne Bécheau, ''Histoire du château et des remparts de Sainte-Alvère. Dossier documentaire'', 2022. * Cyril Yovitchitch, ''Le château et les fortifications de Sainte-Alvère. Diagnostic sommaire d’archéologie du bâti'', 2023.

External links

HelloAsso - Les Défenseurs du Châtelet
association for the protection Sainte-Alvère's medieval heritage {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau de Sainte-Alvere

Monuments historiques of Dordogne