Constructed between the 11th and 15th centuries, Roussillon had 8 towers, 3 main buildings, a chapel and a cloister. This was a fortress doubling as a charming castle. It seems that it was built on much older vestiges of a strong hold of the Duke of Waiffre, a duke of Aquitaine, during the war against Pepin the Short (King of the Franks) in the 8th century. In the 13th century the castle belonged to the Roussillon family (sometimes written as Roussilhon), a modest family of horsemen, from whom the castle probably takes its name It then became the property of the Cahors in bankers until the 14th century. During the 100 year war between the French and the English, Raymond d’Antéjac, the lord of Roussillon, recognised the King of England’s rights to the French Crown and opened the castle to the English in 1355. The consuls of Cahors paid the english to depart. The castle then passed through marriage to de Jean, Vayrols, Auriole and Gontaud-Cabrerets families who looked after the castle until the 18th century. In 1632, Jean III of Gontaud-d’Oriolle received King Louis XIII on his way back from Toulouse for a lunch stop at Roussillon. In 1728, Antoine-François of Gontaud-Cabrerets owned Roussillon as well as the castle of Cabrerets where he preferred to reside. The Lady’s Chamber of Roussillon (now the main reception room) was divided into 3 rooms by partitions which served to house the farmers. Abandoned by the lords, Roussillon lost its splendour. If the castle itself was poorly maintained, the grounds still consist of great riches. The hill that dominates the old fortress is covered with vines. A document from 1766 tells that here one cultivates a table wine and a black wine which then added to other wines permetted their transportation and that one should pay attention to the Roussillon wine as it is of a much better quality than those of Cabrerets. During the Revolution, Roussillon only represented a symbol of power. Thus it was not a victim of the people’s vindictiveness. But its ruin worsened in the 19th century when the heirs of the Maréchal de Gontaud-Biron sold the castel to the Roussillon farmer two transformed it into a quarry and systematically dismantled it to sell the stones to build houses in the nearby villages. In 1958 Pierre and Marcelle Mailhol, school teachers in Cahors, fell in love with the ruins of the castle. Impassioned by the old stones, they bought Roussillon and learnt how to restore it. At this time the castle was buried in earth and rubble up to the first floor and in some places even the second floor. It was hard to determine the architecture of the castle. Huge amounts of work were carried out to renovate the three towers, two of the main rooms and the Lady’s Chamber to recover its former splendour. Jean-François Mailhol, the current owner continues with passion the work undertaken by his parents. http://www.chateau-de-roussillon.com

Le château de Roussillon est une forteresse médiévale de la commune de Saint-Pierre-Lafeuille, dans le Lot. Localisation Le château est situé à une dizaine de kilomètres au nord de Cahors. Il est bâti à 300 m d'altitude, sur une butte dominant d'une centaine de mètres la combe de la Curade. On y accède par une petite route communale, à partir du centre-village. Description Protégé par des douves, le château se compose de trois tours et d'un grand corps de logis encadrant deux cours intérieures. Il a bénéficié d'une restauration récente et est habitable. Histoire Le château de Roussillon a été construit du xiiie au xve siècle, vraisemblablement sur des vestiges d'une place forte du viiie siècle appartenant au duc d'Aquitaine. À l'origine, le château comportait huit tours et trois corps de logis, ainsi qu'une chapelle et un cloître. Il a servi comme forteresse et comme château d'agrément. Il commandait alors la région au nord de Cahors et les vallées des affluents du Lot. En 1355, pendant la Seconde guerre de Cent Ans, le château passa aux mains des Anglais, lorsque Raymond d'Antéjac, seigneur de Roussillon, reconnut au roi d'Angleterre des droits sur la couronne de France. Après avoir été une place forte du protestantisme au xvie siècle, le château de Roussillon, alors propriété de Jean III de Gontaud-d'Oriolle, reçut le roi Louis XIII en 1632. À partir du début du xviiie siècle, le château fut peu à peu délaissé par ses propriétaires. Sa ruine partielle le préserva des destructions de la Révolution française, mais au xixe siècle, il fut utilisé comme carrière de pierres pour les villages environnants. Démantelée et fortement endommagée, la construction fut restaurée à partir de 1958 par la famille Mailhol. Le château a aujourd'hui retrouvé une partie de son aspect antérieur. Protection Le château de Roussillon fait l'objet d'une inscription au titre des Monuments historiques depuis le 29 mars 1929.

Parking GRATUIT (50 places de parking sur place) Location du domaine: 3,000 € (week-end de 3 jours) Location de salle: à partir de 900 € Wi-Fi GRATUIT http://www.chateau-de-roussillon.com/fr/contact-chateau-roussillon-reception-hebergement

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