The Château de Couffour or Tour du Couffour 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 ...

situated in the French '' commune'' of

Chaudes-Aigues Chaudes-Aigues (; , ) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. It is a spa town, famous for its hot spring waters. Geography The commune is situated in the Massif Central in Aubrac. Its inhabitants are called the ''Ca ...

in the

Cantal Cantal (; or ) is a rural Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour, Cantal, Saint-Flou ...

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 ...

''. The original 15th-century castle, with seven towers with conical roof, was witness to the importance of this place during the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a c ...

. The present remains consist of a tower and neighbouring buildings. The circular tower has attached to it, on the west, a smaller tower containing the spiral staircase that gives access to the upper floors. The ground floor, noticeably square, is vaulted. The rooms on the three upper floors display a more or less similar layout. Small circular rooms communicate with each of these rooms. On the first floor, one room still has 17th-century paintings where, on a background of bouquets of leaves and flowers, are inset portraits of women and landscapes in rectangular frames. The first floor room has an 18th-century painted wooden fireplace. In the 18th century, the castle was sold to a local owner. The French Revolution and the early 19th century were a period of decline; poorly maintained, the castle fell into disrepair. Now the property of the commune of Chaudes-Aigues, Château de Couffour is listed as a ''

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 collection of buildings, ...

'' 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 ...

. Since 2009, the castle has been a hotel-restaurant with 2 stars in the

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

, under Serge Vieira, winner of the

Bocuse d'Or The Bocuse d'Or (the ''Concours mondial de la cuisine'', World Cooking Contest) is a :wikt:biennial, biennial world chef championship. Named for the chef Paul Bocuse, the event takes place during two days near the end of January in Lyon, France, a ...

in 2005.Michelin: ''Red Guide France 2016'
online
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References

External links

*
Serge Vieira website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couffour, Chateau Ruined castles in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Monuments historiques of Cantal

See also

References

External links