The Château de Tayac 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
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil
Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil (; ) is a former commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It was created in 1973 by the merger of two former communes: Les Eyzies-de-Tayac and Sireuil. On 1 January 2019, it wa ...
in the
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 ...
''
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.
History
The castle stands on a platform in a cliff. This platform was occupied in prehistoric times;
Magdelanian and
Azilian
The Azilian is a Mesolithic archaeological industry, industry of the Franco-Cantabrian region of northern Spain and Southern France. It dates approximately 10,000–12,500 years ago. Diagnostic Cultural artifact, artifacts from the culture includ ...
artifacts have been found. Then known as the Roc de Tayac, the early castle was built in the 13th century. During the course of the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
, it was held alternately by the English and the French, suffering successive sieges. It had to be rebuilt in the 16th century. In 1595, it suffered a siege during the ''
Jacquerie des Croquants'', an uprising of peasants against the king (1590–1600). In 1606, the king ordered the castle's demolition, undoubtedly following the execution of
Jean Guy de Beynac who had been implicated in the
Duke of Bouillon
The Duchy of Bouillon () was a duchy comprising Bouillon, Belgium, Bouillon and adjacent towns and villages in present-day Belgium.
The state originated in the 10th century as property of the Lords of Bouillon, owners of Bouillon Castle. Crusad ...
's conspiracy.
Description
The edifice is partly cut out of the rock and partly built. Its defensive walls rise on a
corbel
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...
ling of the cliff. The rooms, corridors and stairways are cut from the rock. Access is through a doorway beneath a semicircular arch of large stones. This entrance leads to a passage, partly excavated, partly built, under the building at right angles to the main façade which barred access to the platform. The ''
corps de logis
In architecture, a ''corps de logis'' () is the principal or main block, or central building of a mansion, country or manor house, castle, or palace. It contains the rooms of principal business, the state apartments and the ceremonial or formal ...
'', parallel to the cliff, has a turret in its south west corner supported by corbels.
The castle site is state property. It has been listed since 1968 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
*
Castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Archaeological museums in France
Monuments historiques of Dordogne
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