The château de Rochechouart is situated on a remarkable geological site: a crater that was created by the impact of a meteorite about 210 million years ago. Impactite (earth’s rocks and stones that are altered by the meteorite’s impact) have been incorporated into the construction of the château.

The first château de Rochechouart was very different to the one we see today. The site on which it was constructed, “la Rocca de Cavardus”, gave rise to the town’s name and the name of the family of Viscounts de Rochechouart. We know very little about this early castle.

The buildings that are visible today date predominantly from the 15th century with an interior courtyard and elegant Renaissance gallery. The oldest part, including the fortified entrance and the keep, date from the 13th century.

The château was pillaged during the French Revolution and the remaining furniture and archives were dispersed. The Rochechouart family, to whom the château was restored after the Revolution, decided to sell it to the Haute-Vienne département in 1836. The building then underwent a series of restoration and rebuilding work programmes, largely depending on what it was being used for at the time (town hall, court, local council buildings, clinic, police station etc).

In 1985, the Haute-Vienne département chose the château as the site for the Musée départemental d’art contemporain de Rochechouart, making it possible for the general public to enjoy permanent access to this outstanding heritage building.

Architecture

The building can be classified as a “Renaissance château”. In reality, it is a fairly uniform example of the style of the end of the Gothic era, and combines late Gothic design with Renaissance motifs. In addition to the rare collection of frescoes, major works carried out at the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the 16th century created an outstanding architectural ensemble.

Work on the château

In 2015, the Haute Vienne département launched a major renovation programme of the façades, roofs and woodwork. These restoration works terminate in 2018 to reveal a magnificent lime render that leaves the stonework of the façades visible.

The restoration programme amounts to a total of 3 million euros, which has been jointly funded by the DRAC (Regional Department for Cultural Affairs) and the Haute-Vienne département council.

The castle has rare examples of French Renaissance frescoes, which remained little known for many centuries. These two ensembles, which were created at an interval of just a few decades, are remarkable in that they offer a rare combination of the colourful wall frescoes that are characteristic of the style of the end of the Middle Ages and grisaille techniques (shades of grey only), which is an emblematic innovation of 16^th century art.

La salle des chasses (Hunting Scenes Room)

The reconstruction of the Château de Rochechouart at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the following century included in its program the embellishment of the stately apartments.

The fresco des chasses (fresco portraying hunting scenes) is on the first floor of the castle (which is the floor reserved for use by the lord of the château) in the wing overlooking the courtyard and town. This room appears to have a been a kind of ante-chamber, a chamber for withdrawing which communicated with the lord’s private chamber, which no longer exists, in the tour du Lion by means of a passage.

Intended for receiving visitors only, this room has no fireplace and was only furnished when it was used to welcome visitors. Its decor therefore symbolised the tastes, wealth and rank of the lord of the château.

Extending throughout the entire room, the richly coloured fresco in the Salle des Chasses dates from the very beginning of the 16th century. It depicts a day spent hunting deer in the castle grounds, preceded by a royal banquet. This room benefitted from a restoration programme between 1986 and 1991.

La galerie d’Hercule (Hercules’ Gallery)

Situated on the first floor of the château, which was reserved for use by the lord, in the apartments overlooking the courtyard and town, this work was created in the grand state room (aula magna).

This collection, which was partially exposed in 1883, but remained whitewashed, was rediscovered in 1965 and today remains one of the very rare examples of this kind of work to have survived in France.

The use of the grisaille technique marks a change in the methods used to depict or represent scenes in the first half of the 16th century. Prints of varying origins were used as iconographical models for the different scenes. We can spot Scandinavian influences in some of the costumes, as well as references to the Germanic artist Albrecht Dürer, and the Venetian, Zoan Andrea Valvassore.

The labours and feats of Hercules reflect the tastes of the wealthiest in society, who used his effigy to decorate their homes, and even identified with him and the courage and bravery with which he is associated (courteous Hercules). Hercules is a symbol of power since he is one of the images of the King of France. Hercules is presented as the ultimate man of virtue.

Since 2017, the Musée d’art contemporain de la Haute-Vienne has opened new rooms dedicated to the history of the château and those who built it.

The opening of a new museum space in 2017 now makes it possible to get an overview of the architectural evolution of the château, to explore 1,000 years in the history of the Rochechouart family and decipher the frescoes in the Salle des Chasses and the Galerie d’Hercule…

To start the visit, a video plunges visitors into the saga of the Rochechouart family: from the first viscount, Aymeric, to the many younger branches of the family, including Mortmart, we explore the rich genealogy of the château’s founders.

In the following room, visitors can view 3D reconstructions on the touchscreen table to explore the 3 main periods in the building’s evolution: from the end of the 10th century, when it was founded, to the 13th century, when the main central logis and fortified tower, which is still visible today, were built; then from the 1470s onwards, when the château was entirely rebuilt and restructured. And for those who want to find out more, simply click to access information on the chapel, the draw-bridge, the cannon embrasures in the tour de Redan, the gothic-style twisted columns, the impressive 16th century timbers or the frescoes in the Salle des Chasses and the Galerie d’Hercule.

This space also includes a remarkable collection of Delftware tiles from the 17th century which were found in the rubble in the château’s cellars. It opens out onto the terrace garden overlooking the valley. An excellent way of getting a close-up look at the imposing façade and its architectural embellishments.

Access to these rooms and the garden is included in the entry price.