Ventadour's history
The castle of Ventadour’s history is full of significant events. Over more than 900 years, these events have contributed to the legend and fame of the name Ventadour and this castle.
Discover, in a few dates, the castle of Ventadour’s history …
1060
Archambault II, lord of Comborn, shares his fief between his two sons. Archambault III inherits the castle of Comborn, cradle of the family, and Ebles 1st settles in Ventadour. He becomes the first Viscount of Ventadour.
12th Century
Ventadour shines with its Occitan poetry. Ebles II, viscount of Ventadour, receives a visit from Guillaume 9th of Aquitaine, considered one of the precursors of the trobar art. The castle is the place of birth of one of the greatest poets of his time: Bernart de Ventadour!
1350
King Philippe VI of Valois rewards Bernard de Ventadour for his participation in the wars against the English army and names him Count. Ventadour thus becomes a county.
1379
During the Hundred Years War, the castle passed into the hands of a famous brigand in the pay of the English: Geoffroy Tête Noire. For ten years, he sows terror in many countries before being dislodged by the troops of the Duke of Berry.
1472
Louis de Ventadour and Catherine de Beaufort married their only daughter Blanche, the last heiress of the Ventadour family, to Louis de Levis de Mirepoix. Their descendants retain the name and coat of arms of Ventadour, we now speak of the Lévis Ventadour.
1578
The County of Ventadour is raised to the rank of Duchy by Henri III: Gilbert III Levis-Ventadour is appointed governor seneschal of Limousin. In 1589, Gilbert III was granted the title of peer of the kingdom and Ventadour then became a Duchy peerage.
1793
Following the French Revolution, the Castle of Ventadour was ransacked and then dispossessed of its architecture. An organized looting of its stones takes place reducing the building to the state of ruins.
1840
The Castle is listed as a Historic Monument in Prosper Mérimée’s list.
1965 & 1972
An initial excavation work was carried out by Robert Joudoux and Abbé Léon Billet, and a first topographic study of the site was carried out by the AFPA of Egletons.
1988
Duke Antoine de Lévis de Mirepoix, a descendant of the Lévis-Ventadour family, ceded ownership of the Castle to the village of Moustier-Ventadour.
1999 to 2013
The village of Moustier-Ventadour, with the help of the Community of Communes, implements a major program to safeguard the site, under the direction of the “Bâtiments de France”. New excavations are carried out by “Hadès Productions” and make it possible to ensure the conservation of the ruins and the understanding of the construction of the Castle over time.