Château Barrière
CastleHidden Treasure
Château Barrière, located in Périgueux (Dordogne), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- Castle
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Périgueux, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 45.1813, 0.7123
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00082726
In Périgueux, the Château Barrière is the culmination of twenty centuries of history: its Gallo-Roman foundations support 15th-century medieval towers, a rare fragment of a two-thousand-year-old town that can still be read in stone.
History
In the heart of Périgueux, a city whose soil contains the strata of uninterrupted human occupation since Antiquity, Château Barrière stands out as one of the most unique monuments in Périgord. Its silhouette of noble ruin, set between ancient walls and the Occitan sky, is not the ordinary vestige of a medieval castle: it's an architectural palimpsest, with each section telling the story of a different era, from the Roman Empire to the late flamboyant Gothic period. What makes this castle truly exceptional is the coexistence, in the same building, of several construction systems separated by two millennia. The foundations rest on a portion of the Gallo-Roman walls of the ancient Vesunna - the great city of the Petrocores - whose hewn rubble, sometimes decorated with fragments of ancient architecture that have been reused, is still visible in the lower parts of the curtain walls. Higher up, the 15th-century towers are built of small limestone rubble interspersed with brick courses, in the traditional Périgord technique. The visit is as much about contemplating these layers as it is about strolling through a space where time seems suspended. The preserved ruins still display imposing volumes: round towers, curtain walls and the remains of a seigniorial dwelling which, in its day, must have proudly dominated the medieval quarter of the town. The walker who is sensitive to the archaeology of buildings will find here a masterly lesson in the continuity of urban occupation. The setting, in the heart of Périgueux's historic town centre, just a stone's throw from Saint-Front Cathedral and the remains of the Roman amphitheatre, is an invitation to wander further into this stratified district. Château Barrière is best visited in the late afternoon, when the golden light of Périgord brings out the contrast of the materials and the wild beauty of its ruins.
Architecture
Château Barrière offers a masterly lesson in stratified architecture, with three major construction periods superimposed on one another to form a coherent yet composite whole. At the base, the foundations and lower parts of the walls retain their Gallo-Roman character: large squared limestone blocks, sometimes embellished with reused ancient architectural fragments - column bases, carved cornices - that bear witness to the systematic dismantling of Vesunna's monuments in the Late Period. These remarkably solid Roman foundations determined the siting and layout of the medieval castle. The medieval part dating from the 11th century, which is now difficult to isolate precisely without in-depth archaeological digs, can be seen in the general mass of some of the masonry. However, it is the 15th century that gives the castle its most distinctive character: the round or semi-circular towers are built in small limestone blocks, punctuated by horizontal courses of flat bricks, in a construction style typical of late medieval Périgord. The curtain walls linking these towers still form part of the overall defensive plan, although the ruins have obliterated the complete elevations of the manor house. A few pointed arch bays with Gothic mouldings remain, testifying to an aesthetic concern that placed this castle among the noble residences of the region, at the crossroads of the Flamboyant Gothic and the first Renaissance influences.
Related Figures
Les bâtisseurs de l'enceinte gallo-romaine de Vesunna (IIIe-IVe siècle)Les seigneurs périgordins anonymes du XIe siècle, premiers constructeurs médiévaux du siteLa famille Barrière, propriétaires historiques qui ont donné leur nom au châteauProsper Mérimée, inspecteur général des Monuments historiques, dont l'action permit le classement dès 1862
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Château Barrière located?
Château Barrière is located in Périgueux, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Château Barrière built?
Château Barrière dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Château Barrière open to visitors?
Château Barrière is currently closed to visitors.
