France · 12th century
The Château de Murol is a castle overlooking the town of Murol in the département of Puy-de-Dôme in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région, France.
The first castle was built on a basalt outcrop in the 12th century to provide surveillance over several roads. It was reinforced in the 14th century by Guillaume de Sam, who built the keep, a second chapel and the eastern buildings.
The castle became the property of the d'Estaing family when the sole heir, Jehanne de Murol, married Gaspard d'Estaing in the 15th century. The castle was richly decorated and, under François I d'Estaing, in the 16th century it was surrounded by a huge curtain wall with towers. Emerging unscathed from the sieges during the Catholic League, the castle was transformed when Jean d'Estaing built a more comfortable Renaissance pavilion at the foot of the inner castle. The castle was later abandoned.
Although he ordered the destruction of numerous castles and fortresses, Richelieu spared Murol thanks to the prestige of the d'Estaing family and their influence in the French court. After being used as a prison for many years, it eventually became a bandits' hideout during the Revolution. During the 19th century, it fell to ruin and local inhabitants pillaged the site for stone; its classification as an historical monument (it has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1889) helped to save it and it is now the property of the commune of Murol.
The castle has been developed as an important tourist site in recent years. The Compagnons de Gabriel organise guided tours and son et lumière shows designed to give a genuine view of life in a medieval castle. Displays of medieval martial arts are given in the lower courtyard.
Entrance through the outer curtain wall is by a fortified gatehouse in the south. The Renaissance Pavilion is in the outer courtyard. Though dilipated, the facade still shows ancient mouldings and pilasters. The inner castle, to the north, boasts 10 m (33 ft) high walls, built on a basalt base. Next to the keep, connected to a smaller tower by a curtain wall, are the two chapels, the older from the 13th century and the other 15th century. A ramp leads to a door, decorated with the arms of the Murol and d'Estaing families, that gives access to the inner courtyard.
Text adapted from “Château de Murol” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Murol Castle ranks #1,494 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #116 of the 793 mapped in France. Founded c. 1150, it is older than 80% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 756 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,138 times in the last 60 days, more than 84% of the atlas. 2 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. See how France compares in the castle statistics.
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