Jumilhac Castle (France)

The castle of Jumilhac, private property, is located in the Périgord vert, in the north-east of the Dordogne department. Dominating by about fifty meters the confluence between the Isle and its tributary, the Ruchalait stream, it is located to the southwest of the town of Jumilhac-le-Grand, about fifteen meters north of the Saint- Pierre-ès-Liens.

It is private property, open to visitors.

The castle, under permanent restoration by its owner, has belonged to the Chapelle de Jumilhac since the 16th century and now to their direct descendants: the de La Tour du Pin. Its park is laid out in formal gardens.

The current castle was built in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, altered during the Renaissance and restructured in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries on the site of an old fortified castle known from the twelfth century. Located on the borders of Périgord and Limousin, the stronghold depended on the viscounts of Limoges then the lords of the châtellenie d'Excideuil.

Antoine Chapelle, a wealthy master of the region's forges, married the heiress of the place, Marguerite de Vars in 1579. By largely financing the future Henri IV in his quest for the throne of France, he received in recognition from his hands the title of Count of Jumilhac in 1597.

In 1655, his grandson, François, saw his lands set up as a marquisate4.

The castle is classified as historical monuments in three stages: the central body, December 21, 1922; the right wing, December 20, 1923; the left wing, March 22, 1924.