upThe Château d'Albon in 2008 The Château d'Albon is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the '' commune'' of Albon in the

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of France. The castle appears as a square tower standing on a

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...

History

The castle is located to the east of Saint-Romain-d'Albon in the commune of Albon. It was the main town of the Albon mandate in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, extending over the communes of Albon,

Andancette Andancette () is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Geography Andancette is located: * from Saint-Rambert-d'Albon * from Saint-Vallier * from Valence Population See also *Communes of the Drôme department A com ...

Anneyron Anneyron () is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Drôme department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivation ...

and

Saint-Rambert-d'Albon Saint-Rambert-d'Albon (, literally ''Saint-Rambert of Albon, Drôme, Albon''; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Drôme Departments of France, department in southeastern France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Population Notable re ...

. The centre of power was moved from Saint-Romain-d'Albon. The castle was the cradle of the Albon family's power. The Albons, mentioned in the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

epoch, took the title of count in the 11th century and made the first constitution of

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...

as a territorial principality. Around the 9th century, a small chapel existed on the site, as well as large silos for the storage of cereals. At the end of the 11th century, the chapel was replaced by a Gothic chapel, larger and decorated with moulding, painted coverings and stained-glass. The power of the Counts of Albon was very important at this time. They built a "palace", consisting of a large reception hall with large windows (''aula'') and private quarters (''camera''). In the 13th century, they built the motte and a

keep A keep 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 castles that were fortified residen ...

, divided into three levels. The tower was originally built in wood, then in

molasse __NOTOC__ In geology, "molasse" () are sandstones, shales and conglomerates that form as terrestrial or shallow marine deposits in front of rising mountain chains. The molasse deposits accumulate in a foreland basin, especially on top of flys ...

and pebbles like the place. The castle chapel was rebuilt and a new building appeared, possibly a barn that was abandoned after a fire in the 14th century. Finally, the castle was abandoned from the 16th century. In the following centuries, it was used as a quarry with the exception of the tower.

Architecture

The still visible square keep was previously accompanied by a lower court and a castle settlement, protected by a surrounding wall directly linked to the castle.

Archaeology of the site

Ruins uncovered by archaeological digs * In 1995, a monumental building, for residential use, was discovered in the lower court of the motte, dating from the 11th century * In 1996–1997 a religious building was discovered, enlarged in the 13th century. The castle ruins, property of the commune, were added to the list of '' monuments historiques'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

on 8 March 1982.

Notes

References

* Anne & Fabian Da Costa, ''Châteaux de la Drôme'', Ed. La Taillanderie, 2000, 64 p. () * Michèle Bois & Chrystèle Burgard, ''Fortifications et châteaux dans la Drôme'', éditions Créaphis, 192 p, 2004

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albon, Chateau D' Ruined castles in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Monuments historiques of Drôme Motte-and-bailey castles