Photo : Krzysztof Golik / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Château de Beynac
The Château de Beynac stands at Beynac-et-Cazenac, in the Dordogne, in the heart of the Périgord Noir. Built from the twelfth century by the barons of Beynac to control the valley, it occupies a limestone cliff about 150 metres above the Dordogne and overlooks the village. Its defences are concentrated on the plateau side, the cliff discouraging any attack from below. It has been a listed historic monument since 1944.
After the death without heir of the crusader Adhémar de Beynac, Richard the Lionheart gave the castle to his mercenary captain Mercadier, assassinated in 1200; the barony then reverted to the Beynacs. During the Hundred Years' War, the Dordogne marked the frontier: opposite, the castle of Castelnaud was held by the English. You can see a square Romanesque keep and the Salle des États du Périgord, adorned with a Renaissance fireplace and fifteenth-century frescoes. Restored since 1962 by Lucien Grosso, then by his wife Denise, it has served as a setting for several films, including The Last Duel.
