Photo : MOSSOT / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Château de Biron
The château de Biron overlooks, from its hill, the borders of Périgord and the Agenais, at Biron (Dordogne). Seat of one of the four baronies of Périgord, it belonged to the Gontaut-Biron family until 1938–1939. The first remains date from around the year one thousand, and the twelfth-century keep bears witness to the site's age.
The buildings range from the twelfth to the seventeenth century: upper courtyard with noble lodgings, outer court, Renaissance apartments, grand staircase, vast vaulted kitchens with cisterns and a long hall known as the States of Guyenne. Pons de Gontaut-Biron transformed the fortress into a comfortable residence in the early sixteenth century. The two-level chapel, dated 1515, houses the tombs of Pons and his brother; the original sculptures are kept at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and 3D facsimiles are installed there.
Listed in 1928, the castle has belonged to the Dordogne département since 1978, which restored it. It is open to the public and hosts exhibitions and shows, and has served as a setting for several films.
