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

Château-Dauphin

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Le château de Miremont est situé en Auvergne dans la commune de Miremont dans le Puy-de-Dôme (63380).
Géographie
Le château de Miremont est situé à 1 km du bourg du village, sur un petit mont. Le château fait face à l’église Romane du xiie siècle, elle aussi sur un petit mont. D’où le nom de Miremont (mire : regarder).
Les terres du château de Miremont sont délimitées par le chancelade.
Histoire du château de Miremont
Le plus célèbre seigneur de Miremont fut Pierre de la Rochette (mort à la bataille de Poitiers en 1356). Pour lui rendre hommage, le château de Miremont a donné son nom à la grande salle de réception : salon Pierre de la Rochette
Les jardins du château de Miremont
Lieu privé, le château de Miremont ouvre ses portes aux visiteurs pour montrer les jardins gratuitement et faire des réceptions. La cour d’honneur est composée d’un parterre de rosiers disposés en constellations. Ces jardins ont été restaurés par un élève de l’école de Versailles. Une fontaine xviiie avec miroir d'eau aux quatre jets centraux orne la cour d'honneur.
La métairie du château de Miremont
Après plusieurs mois de restauration, la métairie du château de Miremont est désormais un lieu de réception.
Depuis avril 2015, un gîte très typique ferme auvergnate du xviiie siècle est également disponible. Une collection privée d'objets anciens typiques du xviiie siècle est présente. Des "lits clos" ou "lits wagons" ont été refaits comme autrefois grâce à l'appui technique du Musée régional d'Auvergne à Riom.

Château de Miremont

The Château de Cordès is a castle situated in the commune of Orcival, in the Puy-de-Dôme département of France. The château is privately owned, and open to the public. It is classified as a historic monument and the garden is listed by the French Ministry of Culture as one of the Remarkable Gardens of France.
History
The original castle dates from 1268, when it belonged to Guillaume de Chalus, whose family occupied the castle for nearly four hundred years. In 1659, they sold it to Emmanuel d'Allègre. His son, Yves de Tourzel, the marquis d'Allegre, who became a marechal of France in 1724, rebuilt it and transformed it into a residence, and in 1695, commissioned the workshop of Le Nôtre to lay out the garden.
In 1965, the new owner restored the château and recreated the gardens.
Paul Bourget set the action of his novel, Le démon de midi, published in 1914, at the Château de Cordès.
The château has been listed since 1933 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
The château
The exterior facade on the Sioulet River side is decorated with machicolation. The interior of the castle contains a Carrara marble altarpiece dating from the 16th century and the sculptured tomb of Yves II. The living room is decorated with plaster work dating from the 18th century.
The gardens
The castle is approached through an alley of hornbeam trees five meters high, with two formal gardens with basins, surrounded by hedges. Next to the castle is a labyrinth with a rose garden in the centre. Diirectly in front of the castle is a topiary garden.

Château de Cordès

The Château de Tournoël is a medieval fortified castle partly in ruins in the commune of Volvic, in the Puy-de-Dôme département of France. The castle is located on a rocky mountain spur at an altitude of 594 m in the foothills of the Puy de la Bannière which dominates the Limagne plains (about 350 m altitude above the level of Riom).
The Château de Tournoël is privately owned and has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1889.
Strategic location
The castle, by dominating the Limagne plains, watched over the surroundings of the “bonne ville” (which means a town with a peculiar status with the king) of Riom which was the commercial and legal capital city of the Basse-Auvergne, and the royal Mozac Abbey. Therefore, Tournoël was, within a radius of 5 km, a seigniorial anti-establishment in this group of three consular, royal and religious powers.

Its isolation on this volcanic overhang also ensured a better safety in case of withdrawal. Moreover, the castle was known to be “unassailable” or “impregnable, defended on the outside by extremely high slopes, very deep valleys, multiple towers and walls, filled with armed men and supplies” as described by William the Breton at the beginning of the 13th century.
History
Bertrand of Tournoël
The castle’s early background is unknown because no document exists before the 11th century. The first documented owner of Tournoël dates back to between 1076 and 1096 and is in a document kept in the regional archives of the Puy-de-Dôme. In this certificate, Bertrannus (Bertrand in French), Lord of “Tournoile” (toponym at that time), had taken the church of Cébazat that he gave back to the cathedral chapter of Clermont.
Tournoël, property of the rulers of Auvergne
The family of the rulers of Auvergne took possession of the castle at an unknown date. Guy II of Auvergne owned it from at least 1190.
Whereas Guy II favored the claims of Richard the Lionheart to the Auvergne, his brother Robert, bishop of Clermont, sided with King Philip-Augustus. The tensions between the two brothers led to the imprisonment of Robert at Tournoël in 1199.
At the end of 1212, the French king sent his army led by Guy of Dampierre, lord of Bourbon, who besieged and took the castle. Guy II lost almost all of his possessions in Auvergne, only keeping the region around Vic-le-Comte. Philip-Augustus ordered the restitution of the assets belonging to the Mozac Abbey.
This event — the siege of Tournoël — allowed for the first time the annexation of the Basse-Auvergne to the crown lands. The territories seized by the king were called "lands of Auvergne".
A royal castle
In 1213, Guy de Dampierre took possession of the castle for the king, to whom he sent an inventory of the castle in a letter dated 20 December 1213.
Guy de Dampierre died on 18 January 1216. His son and successor, Archambaud VIII, retained ownership of Tournoël by the King's decision.
In 1225, King Louis VIII planned to convey his Auvergne possessions to his son Alphonse de Poitiers, who was made for the purpose Count of Auvergne. The County of Auvergne, just like the counties of Poitiers and Saintonge, was conceded as appanage. Alphonse took possession of the lands of Auvergne on his majority in 1241. The city of Riom became the capital of Lower Auvergne and, in 1270, Alphonse granted it a charter, called the "Alphonsine". Prince Alphonse stayed several times in his castle at Riom but also at Tournoël in 1251. Following his death in 1271, the land of Auvergne returned to the Crown of France.
The exchange with the heirs of Geraud Maulmont
In 1306, King Philip the Fair concluded an agreement with the heirs of Geraud Maulmont (or Maumont), a noble Limousin family who owned Saint-Julien-Maumont. Tournoël Châteauneuf and part of the lordship of Cébazat were exchanged for strategic places between Limousin and Périgord, such as Bourdeilles, Chalus Chabrol, Châlus Maulmont (both located in the present town of Chalus), to better counter the English domain of Aquitaine and thus strengthening the border.
Pierre de Maumont officially became lord of Tournoël on 12 February 1313. He died in 1345 and had only one daughter, Martha, who took the castle to her husband, Gerald, lord of Roche Limousin.
The de La Roche family
Géraud de La Roche died on an unknown date. His son Hugues de La Roche became the owner.
Hugues
In 1343, Hugues married Dauphine Rogier, the niece of Pope Clement VI and the sister of the future Pope Gregory XI. Thereby, Hugues became Rector of the Comtat Venaissin and Marshall of the Papal Court. In 1359, he was named Captain general of Basse-Auvergne and fought against England during the Hundred Years’ War. He died in 1398, with the title of Great Lord Chancellor of France.
Hugues de La Roche reinforced the fortifications of the castle, especially the big circular 13th century keep, adding to it a chemin de ronde about two-thirds of its height, supported by machicolations.
Nicolas
His son, Nicolas de la Roche, took over from him in 1398. In 1404, he married Alix de Chauvigny, daughter of Chateau Rocher's lord. Their oldest son, Jean de La Roche, married Louise de La Fayette (daughter of Marshal Gilbert Motier de La Fayette) in 1419 and inherited Tournoël subject to an usufruct. He was killed during the Battle of Verneuil in August 1424 at the age of 22. He was survived by three children. When Nicolas died in 1428, his other sons claimed the property of Tournoël from Jean's widow. Château de Tournoël was sequestered by the senechal until a judicial settlement. In 1429, the castle was given to the widow, Louise de La Fayette, and her children: the eldest, Antoine de La Roche, acquired the castle at the age of majority.
Antoine
Antoine de La Roche lived in Tournoël with Jeanne de Vieuville (cousin of Agnès Sorel) whom he had married in 1448. During this period the couple embellished the inside architecture of the fortress to change it into a residency. When the nobles rose up against Louis XI, creating the League of the Public Weal, Antoine de La Roche did not join Charles the Bold's followers. Louis XI rewarded him by naming him advisor and chamberlain of the court. A competition began between him and his suzerain, John II, Duke of Bourbon, who did participate in the League of the Public Weal. In 1478, as Antoine refused to give homage to him, John II of Bourbon sent him to jail in Moulins, then to the Conciergerie of Paris. The Duke of Bourbon put Tournoël under sequestration and his guards occupied it. On that occasion a detailed inventory of all furnitures was made. Two years later, in 1480, the Duke was ordered to return the castle to Antoine de La Roche by the Parliament of Paris but he seized it once again in 1487 giving as an excuse that people had been manhandled. One year later this seizure was nullified.
Antoine died in 1493.
Jean
His son Jean succeeded him. He was the husband of Françoise Talaru (Foréz family). He died in 1501 leaving only a daughter:
Charlotte
Charlotte de la Roche de Tournoelle married in 1509 Jean d'Albon (b. 1472 - d. 1559), son of Guichard, lord of Saint-André and Anne de Saint-Nectaire. They had a daughter Marguerite, and two sons, Jacques (Marshal of France) and François (Bishop of Limoges).

Château de Tournoël

The Château de Chazeron is a castle situated in the commune of Loubeyrat in the French département of Puy-de-Dôme, 3 km (1.9 mi) north-west of Châtel-Guyon.
Originally a medieval castle, Chazeron was altered in the 17th century by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart. He built a staircase on the site of the keep and added an arcaded gallery. The moat was filled in, three of the external walls were demolished and two wings were added.
During the Second World War, Léon Blum, Georges Mandel, Édouard Daladier, Paul Reynaud and Maurice Gamelin were imprisoned in the castle in 1942 before their appearance at the Riom Trial.
Today, the castle is a cultural centre, exhibiting drawings and avant-garde furniture. The keep offers views over the Sardon valley and the Limagne plain.
The castle has been listed as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture since 1944.

Château de Chazeron

Le château de la Bâtisse est un château français, situé sur la commune de Chanonat, dans le Puy-de-Dôme. Avec ses jardins, ce château d'Auvergne fait l'objet d'une protection au titre des monuments historiques.
Histoire
Connu depuis 1308, le château a d'abord appartenu à l'écuyer Gérard d'Aultier. Le domaine passa ensuite à la famille de La Volpilhière jusqu'en 1569. Après le suicide du dernier de la famille, le château resta à l'abandon pendant 60 ans. La seigneurie fut acquise en 1622 par Claude Roussel qui le céda en 1693 à Jean Girard, Secrétaire du Roy près de la Cour des Aides de Clermont. Ce dernier prit par la suite le nom de Girard de Chasteauneuf. Ses descendants se sont alliés à la famille Arnoux de Maison Rouge qui en est l'actuel propriétaire.
Architecture
Une simple tour de défense fut construite au xiiie siècle pour constituer la ceinture de défense du sud de Clermont-Ferrand avec celle du Crest, de la Roche Blanche et la forteresse d'Opme. La vallée de l'Auzon servait à l'origine de chemin protégé. Le château du Crest tenait les hauts et la tour du guetteur à La Bâtisse tenait le bas.
Au xive siècle on ajouta trois autres tours qui furent réunies par des corps de bâtiment afin de constituer un véritable château-fort. La situation au cœur de la vallée de cette maison forte ne lui permettait tout au plus que de prévenir les attaques éventuelles.
En 1622, Le cardinal de Richelieu fit raser les grandes places fortes d'Auvergne et démantela un certain nombre de petits châteaux. Les murs d'enceinte de La Bâtisse, ainsi qu'une tour furent rasés. Les mâchicoulis et les créneaux des trois tours restantes furent également détruits. Vers 1633, le propriétaire Claude Roussel coiffa les tours de calottes à lanternon. Le clocheton du centre date du xixe siècle. En 1693 le château fut restauré en demeure de plaisance à la mode du 18ème avec un jardin à la Française en terrasses.
Parcs et jardins
Les jardins du château s’étendent sur 9 hectares et ont été dessinés par l’école d'André Le Nôtre. Ce sont les plus grands jardins à la française du Puy-de-Dôme, ils sont aujourd'hui classés "Jardin remarquable". L'eau y tient une place prépondérante. Le domaine du château longe le bord de l'Auzon sur 1800 mètres. La Bâtisse est le seul véritable jardin d'eau du Massif Central. Un barrage capte l'eau et l’amène dans un petit canal qui débouche dans un château d'eau situé au-dessus de la propriété. L'eau arrive dans les bassins par gravitation.