Château de l'Herm is a
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
Rouffignac-Saint-Cernin-de-Reilhac in the ''
department'' of
Dordogne
Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...
in the
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...
region of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Construction took place between 1500 and 1520 in the Forêt Barade under the management of Jean de Calvimont, who served in the Bordeaux parliament and was ambassador of Francis I to Spain. The castle was abandoned after the family left in 1605.
Currently, the
moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
s are still visible and the castle is open to visitors.
Eugène Le Roy used the castle as a setting in his 1899 novel ''Jacquou le Croquant'',
which uses many real place names and locations. It tells the story of a Barade forest peasant who rebels against the evil comte de Nansac who lives at the Château de l'Herm.
It has been listed since 1927 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 ...
.
See also
*
List of castles in France
This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Regions of France, region and Departments of France, department.
;Notes:
# The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are p ...
References
External links
*
The Castle's Website
Castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Monuments historiques of Dordogne
Castles in France
{{France-castle-stub