Castle Map

Castle

Château-Dauphin

France · 12th century

Founded
c. 1150
Heritage status
classified historical monument
Location
Pontgibaud
Coordinates
45.83389°, 2.85472°
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Château-Dauphin in France
Photo: Groumfy69 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Description

Château-Dauphin is a medieval castle in the commune of Pontgibaud in the Puy-de-Dôme département of France.

The castle owes its name to the coat of arms of the person who built it in the 12th century: Robert I, Count of Auvergne, on whose arms was a dolphin (dauphin). The original construction was modified in the 15th century by Gilbert III Motier de La Fayette, who strengthened the defences and enlarged the keep. Abandoned in the 17th century for a more comfortable building, and damaged during the French Revolution, the castle was finally restored in the 19th century by Count César III of Pontgibaud.

The castle has been occupied since 1756 by the family of a King's musketeer, César I de Moré. The present owners, the Count and Countess Gabriel de Germiny, are his descendants. The castle, garden and museum are open to the public.

The main building is a double keep. In effect, a round keep forms one of the corners of a strong square keep. The two parts are independent. The square keep is articulated around an interior court, covered in the 19th century by a glass canopy. The fortified curtain wall includes seven towers, of which six stand today. The castle includes a kitchen garden known from records of the 16th century. It was restored in the 18th century. There is also a museum dedicated to silver mining in the canton of Pontgibaud, mostly in the second half of the 19th century by the Société des mines et fonderies de Pontgibaud.

Château-Dauphin has been classified and declassified as monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture at various times since 1889. It was finally classified in 1995, covering the castle itself, six towers, common lands, the ground, well and fountain. The kitchen garden is also classified.

Text adapted from “Château-Dauphin” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

In the rankings

Château-Dauphin ranks #5,060 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #434 of the 787 mapped in France. Founded c. 1150, it is older than 80% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 763 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,414 times in the last 60 days, more than 60% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how France compares in the castle statistics.

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