ENSEMBLE FORTIFIE DU VILLARD

To defend the western flank of the Château de Chanac, the bishops of Mende built a particularly solid castral ensemble in Villard around 1220. There remains a vast platform with an entrance door flanked by two round towers and equipped with a portcullis . The whole is extended by a section of rampart provided with loopholes and a walkway. In the northern part, the bases of the square tower can be seen, a dungeon which, after the Revolution, was still 16m high. Further on, to the north, a natural mound dominating a sheer drop over the Lot valley is fortified with a surrounding wall which connects to the east that which encompasses the stronghold. The castle does not seem to have been able to recover from the various attacks and destruction of the Wars of Religion. Undoubtedly, the pacification will have made useless, in the eyes of the bishops, this defensive site. The ramparts were restored by the department and the municipality in 1984. click to find all the castles of the Country of art and history Mende & Lot in Gévaudan

Show less