CHÂTEAU DE NONTRON
18th century castle with terraced park overlooking the Bandiat, advanced bastion and eight vaults supporting the first terrace
Dating from the 18th century, this château was built on the site of a former fortified castle, home to the Lords of Nontron. Vaulted rooms and the foundations of a keep can still be seen in the basement of today's château, dating back to the time when Roger, Count of Limoges, and his wife Euphrasie, by will of May 19, 785, donated Nontron château to the monks of Charroux Abbey in Poitou, who were to found the Saint-Sauveur Monastery 19 years later. The castle was ceded to the Viscounts of Limoges in 1258, who were in a better position to defend an estate of this kind. In the terraced park overlooking the Bandiat River, a small bastion still stands, guarding access to the valley. Eight vaults supporting the first terrace give the whole a rather grandiose appearance. The château was burnt down in 1672 and 1713, then rebuilt on its original site between 1768 and 1772 by the Marquis de Laire, President of the Bordeaux Parliament, who sold it to the Comte de Laramière, who in turn sold it to M. De Mazerat, the last seneschal judge of Nontron before the Revolution, who completed its construction and embellished it. It passed successively to Mme de Lagorne (granddaughter of the previous owner) and, by succession, to her grandson the Comte de Saint-Sernin. The château was then bought by Marie-Camille de Monneron in the mid-1970s (the Commune de Nontron has owned it since 1984). It currently houses the arts and crafts center and the Tourist Office.
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