Photo : Wikimedia Commons
Château de Crussol
Even though it is rightly considered one of the high places of Ardèche heritage, the ruins of the Crussol fortress are above all linked to the Rhône valley and the Valence landscape. They occupy the summit of a limestone peak (the "Crussol mountain" is 3 km long) which peaks at 400 metres. A steep slope of 250 metres gives the fortress an impressive natural protection.
Construction of the castle began in the twelfth century, under a lord named Gérald Bastet, but the name Crussol (Cruciolo, in Latin) is mentioned as early as the tenth century in the cartulary of the Abbey of Saint-Chaffre. The ruins as a whole cover 3 hectares and include the village (La Villette), about a hundred houses sheltered behind a first rampart, and the castle itself.
Owned by the Uzès family, the lordly residence ceased to be inhabited in the fifteenth century (the more comfortable Château d'Uzès was then preferred). During the Wars of Religion, the site regained its military usefulness: occupied by the Protestants in 1573, it was consolidated and the fortifications rearranged. The Catholics nevertheless overcame it and it was finally razed in the seventeenth century. Restoration work has been under way for some years and the visit lets you discover a fabulous medieval ensemble.
