Tour du Bourdeix
FortressHidden Treasure
Sentinel of granite in the Périgord vert, the tour de Colomges rises fifteen metres of medieval masonry like a defiance to the centuries. The sole remnant of a vanished fortress, it captivates with its walls three metres thick and its interior cupola.
History
In the heart of the Périgord Vert, in the commune of Le Bourdeix, stands a silent and massive presence: the circular tower of Colomges. The sole survivor of a fortified castle that once marked the landscape of this Perigord march, it stands out today as one of the most authentic examples of medieval military architecture in the Dordogne. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1988, it attracts heritage enthusiasts in search of lesser-known monuments of incomparable evocative power. What makes this tower truly unique is its remarkable state of structural preservation. Fifteen metres high and still standing, with walls almost three metres thick at the base, this is a fortress designed to withstand decades of siege. The regularly coursed granite reveals a care in execution that contrasts with the supposed roughness of Romanesque country buildings. Each foundation bears witness to a well-organised building site, a skilled workforce and an assertive seigneurial ambition. The interior holds a major architectural surprise: the base of the tower is covered by a domed vault, a rare feature for a tower of this type in the Périgord region. This technical solution, which strengthens the whole while leaving a usable interior space, gives the building an almost solemn dimension. Those accustomed to square towers will be struck by the gentle curve of stone rising up into the half-light. The setting that surrounds the tower adds to the experience. Le Bourdeix is a discreet village nestling in the wooded hills that separate the Dordogne from the Haute-Vienne, a region of dense bocage and verdant horizons. The tower appears almost unexpectedly, hidden in the vegetation, like a secret that the Périgord countryside has long kept to itself. For the photographer, the amateur archaeologist or the history-loving walker, the visit is a rare experience: that of a raw, unscripted monument, delivered in its stone truth.
Architecture
The Colomges tower belongs to the large family of circular main towers characteristic of the military architecture of the 12th-13th centuries. Its perfectly round plan, fifteen-metre high walls and thickness of just under three metres make it a particularly massive example of a modest-sized fortification. The material used is local granite, a hard, durable stone quarried from the outcrops that dot this transitional area between Périgord and Limousin. The structure is regular and the blocks carefully squared and bedded, demonstrating above-average technical mastery for a rural site. The most remarkable feature of the interior architecture is undoubtedly the domed vault covering the lower part of the tower. This solution, inherited from Romanesque building traditions and found in certain keeps in the south-west, distributes the thrust evenly over the entire circular wall, eliminating the lateral tensions typical of barrel vaults. It also provided a low, covered space that could be used as a storeroom or guard room, protected from fire and impact. This technical detail brings the Colomges tower closer to sophisticated regional architectural know-how. Externally, the tower stands out for the deliberate austerity of its granite facing, devoid of any sculpted decoration - in keeping with the building's purely defensive purpose. The openings, reduced to a strict minimum, follow military logic: light and ventilation are sacrificed to resistance. The overall impression is one of raw strength and formal economy, which paradoxically constitutes the aesthetic charm of this wartime architecture.
Related Figures
Seigneurs de Colomges (XIIe-XIIIe siècle) — lignage local bâtisseur du château fort, probablement vassaux des vicomtes de Limoges ou des comtes du PérigordVicomtes de Limoges — suzerains présumés de la châtellenie de Colomges aux XIIe-XIIIe siècles, acteurs majeurs de la politique féodale dans cette marcheÉlie Rudel de Bergerac — figure de l'aristocratie périgourdine médiévale dont le réseau d'alliances s'étendait aux confins du BourdeixBertrand de Born (vers 1140-1215) — troubadour et seigneur voisin d'Hautefort, dont les poèmes guerriers reflètent l'atmosphère belliqueuse qui présida à la construction de telles tours en Périgord
