Château de La Poujade
CastleHidden Treasure
Château de La Poujade, located in Urval (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
- Urval, Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 44.8197, 0.9449
- Mérimée Reference
- PA24000041
La Poujade, an 18th-century Périgord charterhouse nestling in the Sarladais region, reveals its vaulted terraces and elegant ground-floor building, a discreet sanctuary of the Resistance and a secret refuge for the treasures of the Musées de France.
History
In the heart of the Périgord Noir, in the gentle countryside of Urval on the borders of the Sarladais region, Château de La Poujade belongs to that architectural family typically from Gascony and Bordeaux known as "chartreuse" - an evocative term referring not to a monastery, but to an art of living between a manor house and an agricultural estate. Far from the haughty verticality of medieval fortresses, La Poujade unfolds in a tranquil horizontality, its adjoining rooms inviting you to glide naturally from one space to another, in a refined sense of intimacy inherited from the 18th century. What makes La Poujade truly unique is the combination of the controlled elegance of its main building and the terraces resting on vaulted cellars, remnants of an ancient spatial organisation possibly linked to the monastic settlements that preceded or inspired the estate. This architectural base, which is both functional and aesthetic, lends the building a quiet dignity that is not marred by superfluous ornamentation or ostentatious displays. The estate also has a strong agricultural dimension: its outbuildings, still visible in the landscape, bear witness to an autonomous rural economy, that of the great Périgord families who combined nobility of setting with practical experience of the land. It's a far cry from the glitz and glamour of Versailles - and that's precisely the charm of La Poujade: provincial nobility, authentic and deeply rooted. For today's visitor, La Poujade is a plunge into an intimate and often little-known France, a France of character residences that have silently shaped the identity of the Périgord. The verdant setting, the serenity of the site and the architectural quality of the buildings make it an ideal stop-off point for lovers of rural heritage, photographers keen to capture the soft light on the pale stone, and anyone looking to get away from the beaten tourist track.
Architecture
Château de La Poujade is an accomplished example of the Périgord chartreuse, an architectural type specific to south-western France that differs radically from the traditional château in its rejection of verticality. The main building spans the ground floor, with a long horizontal facade whose sober balance is reminiscent of the classical precepts of the 18th century: evenly spaced windows, discreet cornice, measured elevation. The building is constructed from the blonde limestone typical of the Périgord region, which takes on golden hues in the south-western sunshine, giving the residence the luminous character so typical of Sarlat architecture. The interior layout, with connecting rooms aligned along a longitudinal axis, is the chartreuse's functional and aesthetic signature. It encourages the circulation of light and air, and creates an architectural promenade from one room to the next without any abrupt breaks. Beneath the main building and its terraces are vaulted cellars of great constructive quality, probably the legacy of a building tradition that predates the eighteenth century, and which give the complex a remarkable historical depth. The farm outbuildings, organised around the main building according to a functional logic inherited from the tradition of large rural estates, harmoniously complete the ensemble. Together with the main building, they form a dialogue between prestigious and utilitarian architecture, between the manor house and the farmhouse, revealing the lifestyle of the Périgord gentry.
Related Figures
Propriétaires bourgeois ou nobles périgourdins du XVIIIe siècle (bâtisseurs du corps de logis actuel)Résistants du Périgord Noir ayant utilisé La Poujade comme état-major clandestin (1940-1944)Conservateurs des Musées de France ayant organisé les dépôts d'œuvres d'art durant la Seconde Guerre mondialeJacques Jaujard (directeur des Musées Nationaux, coordonnateur national des transferts d'œuvres d'art en zone libre)
Tags
Nearby castles
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Château de La Poujade located?
Château de La Poujade is located in Urval, Dordogne department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, France.
When was Château de La Poujade built?
Château de La Poujade dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Château de La Poujade open to visitors?
Château de La Poujade is currently closed to visitors.
