Château de Montfort
A primitive castle from the early Middle Ages, probably a simple wooden tower, was succeeded in the 12th century by a first stone castle, which was itself deeply modified and enlarged by Géraud de Maulmont, archdeacon of Limoges and adviser to the King of France Philippe IV le Bel at the end of the 13th century.
The impressive screen wall rose to the height of the three semi-octagonal towers. Like the other buildings, the towers were covered with a roof of sometimes glazed tiles. The east and west towers have a cul-de-sac. The cul-de-sac in the east tower is currently being cleared. The ogival door was protected by a drawbridge that was modified several times. The roofs and the upper part of the towers and the dwelling are missing today. The covered way was open with alternating loopholes and shooting windows.
The building stones of the castle were extracted on site by creating the southern ditch. Between 2008 and 2015, the volunteers of the association "Mons fortis" have largely cleared the rubble accumulated over the centuries.
The castle has belonged to various families (de Charny, Bauffremont, Chalon, Orange, Nassau, the Tellier de Louvois, Harcourt, Forest) with periodic returns to the hands of the Dukes of Burgundy.
The most important modifications and restorations were carried out by Princess Amélie d'Orange-Nassau at the beginning of the 17th century and by the Baron de la Forest at the beginning of the 18th century.
The castle has not suffered any major attack or siege, except during the Wars of Religion at the end of the 16th century. Sensitive to the prayers of Julienne de Nassau de Bourbon, King Henry IV reversed in 1604 his decision to destroy it.
At the beginning of the 19th century, it was finally the owners themselves (heirs of the Baron de la Forest), who decided to demolish it in order to sell the materials: tiles, tiles, timber, stones, etc.
The north and northeast buildings were almost entirely demolished. The southern façade of Géraud de Maulmont was largely preserved. Only a few breaches in the curtain wall and towers show that the window frames were recovered.
On the ground floor, the disemboweled dwelling shows the remains of a large room with a pointed vault on three pillars, paved and equipped with a fireplace. The first floor's 250 m2 seigneurial room was heated by two huge fireplaces, large windows opened onto the courtyard on the north side, the paving was made up of glazed two-tone floor tiles; the ceiling was made up of a wooden barrel vault.
The main hall opened directly onto the chapel, which was located behind the eastern tower. Under the chapel was the kitchen equipped with an oven and a fireplace. Nearby, the well is dug partly in the rock at a depth of 28 m.
The ground floor of the west tower has been completely restored and serves as a small stone museum.
A car park precedes the vast bailey, protected by a rampart flanked by half-towers and a dovecote. There is a cistern which has recently been cleared and put back in water. The association's sheds occupy the site of former farm buildings. A small sales point offers books, documents and postcards.