The site
The Château de Hautefort is distinguished by its atypical characteristics. It is a classic castle perched on a rocky spur. Classic castles, which are generally built on plains, usually give easy access to their gardens. Hautefort is not an ex-nihilistic creation. It was originally a medieval fortress, which was most probably built on the site of a Roman camp.
The medieval fortress
In the IXth century, the "castrum de Autafort", belonged to the powerful viscounts of Limoges. The strategic importance of this fortress was asserted during the Guyenne wars between the Plantagenets and Capetians. The owners, Constantin and Bertran de Born, feuding brothers, supported different camps. The castle thus underwent several sieges, including that of Richard The Lionheart in 1183, before Bertran de Born, the famous warrior-troubadour, raised it from its ruins.
The medieval fortress composed of a keep linked by facades to other towers:The Palm Tower, The Long Tower, The Prison Tower...
The classic castle
The Château de Hautefort and the old village Hospice are rare examples of classic architecture in the Perigord region. If Hautefort’s architecture is radically different from the architecture of castles in the region, notably medieval fortresses or Renaissance castles with powerful mass effects, it is because its history was different and because it belonged to a different class of people. The social ascension of the Marquises of Hautefort led them to live in the court of France in intellectual and artistic circles that were different from their original sphere, which led to the exogenous nature of their castle. The construction lasted an entire century, from the end of the XVIth century to the end of the XVIIth century. It was spearheaded by two architects who were foreign to the region, a man from Lorraine (Nicolas Rambourg) and a Parisian (Jacques Maigret), who almost tore down the medieval buildings totally.*
The body of the central building, punctuated with angled pavilions on both sides, is flanked on both sides with T-square wings ending with round towers crowned with turret domes.
*Jean-Pierre Babelon Hautefort, special edition of "Connaissance des arts" N°155
Upload the bibliography of Hautefort Castle : Bibliography
The Château de Hautefort is distinguished by its atypical characteristics. It is a classic castle perched on a rocky spur. Classic castles, which are generally built on plains, usually give easy access to their gardens. Hautefort is not an ex-nihilistic creation. It was originally a medieval fortress, which was most probably built on the site of a Roman camp.
The medieval fortress
In the IXth century, the "castrum de Autafort", belonged to the powerful viscounts of Limoges. The strategic importance of this fortress was asserted during the Guyenne wars between the Plantagenets and Capetians. The owners, Constantin and Bertran de Born, feuding brothers, supported different camps. The castle thus underwent several sieges, including that of Richard The Lionheart in 1183, before Bertran de Born, the famous warrior-troubadour, raised it from its ruins.
The medieval fortress composed of a keep linked by facades to other towers:The Palm Tower, The Long Tower, The Prison Tower...
The classic castle
The Château de Hautefort and the old village Hospice are rare examples of classic architecture in the Perigord region. If Hautefort’s architecture is radically different from the architecture of castles in the region, notably medieval fortresses or Renaissance castles with powerful mass effects, it is because its history was different and because it belonged to a different class of people. The social ascension of the Marquises of Hautefort led them to live in the court of France in intellectual and artistic circles that were different from their original sphere, which led to the exogenous nature of their castle. The construction lasted an entire century, from the end of the XVIth century to the end of the XVIIth century. It was spearheaded by two architects who were foreign to the region, a man from Lorraine (Nicolas Rambourg) and a Parisian (Jacques Maigret), who almost tore down the medieval buildings totally.*
The body of the central building, punctuated with angled pavilions on both sides, is flanked on both sides with T-square wings ending with round towers crowned with turret domes.
*Jean-Pierre Babelon Hautefort, special edition of "Connaissance des arts" N°155
