Le Château des Rois ducs (also known as Château de Sauveterre) is a
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in the ''
commune'' of
Sauveterre-la-Lémance
Sauveterre-la-Lémance (; oc, Salvatèrra de Lemança) is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France.
Geography
Surrounded by green hills and situated in the Lémance valley on the borders of Bouriane and Périgord ...
in the
Lot-et-Garonne ''
département'' of France.
[
]
History
It was constructed at the end of the 13th century by Edward I of England on one of the principal routes between Périgord and Agenais
Agenais (), or Agenois (), was an ancient region that became a county (Old French: ''conté'' or ''cunté'') of France, south of Périgord.Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. "Agenais". '' Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary''. 9th ed. Sprin ...
. During the Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...
, it became a centrepiece in the Anglo-French war of attrition. It was burned in 1789 during the French Revolution.
It was bought by the aviator Jean Mermoz in 1936, less than a year before his death. He had seen the castle from the air. After his death, the castle was abandoned and became the property of the ''commune'' until it was sold in the 1980s.Visiter Sauveterre-la-Lémance
SauveTerre Musée de Préhistoire website . Retrieved 20 February 2019.
The castle in its entirety, as well as its grounds and
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
, have been classified as historical monuments since 19 September 2003. It is privately owned.
[
]
Description
Built on a rocky outcrop, it overlooks the valleys of the Lémance and the Sendroux. It is located not far from Périgord Noir
The Périgord noir (, literally ''Black Périgord''), also known as Sarladais, is a traditional natural region of France, which corresponds roughly to the Southeast of the current Dordogne ''département'', now forming the eastern part of the N ...
(Dordogne) and Quercy (Lot
Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to:
Common meanings Areas
* Land lot, an area of land
* Parking lot, for automobiles
*Backlot, in movie production
Sets of items
*Lot number, in batch production
*Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...
).
See also
* List of castles in France
References
Bibliography
* Philippe Tholin, "Le château de Sauveterre-la-Lémance", , in ''La vallée de la Lémance et sa région'', ''Revue d'histoire de Lot-et-Garonne et de l'ancien Agenois'', Académie des sciences, lettres et arts d'Agen, July–September 2006, vol 133(3)
* Georges Tholin
"Le château de Sauveterre-la-Lémance"
''Revue de l'Agenais'', 1897, vol 23, pp. 193–200
* Stéphane Capot, "091 - Sauveterre-la-Lémance, château et bourg féodal, Le Festin", series ''Le Lot-et-Garonne en 101 sites et monuments'', 2014, pp. 118–119
External links
Ministry of Culture listings for
:*
:*
on Castleland.com
Castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Buildings and structures in Lot-et-Garonne
Monuments historiques of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
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