Situated on a rocky spur which overlooks the Soudeillette and Vine gorges from 200m, the imposing ruins of the Château de Ventadour are perched at an altitude of 572m.
His original name is “Meyras castle”. He took in the nineteenth century the name of one of the most powerful families who lived last, the dukes of Ventadour
In XIIth and XIIIth centuries it was a home of artistic creation, one of the most important of the Occitan countries.
The troubadours used to meet at the castle to create and compare their poems. Eble II viscount of the castle of Ventadour was then considered a master in the art of the “trobar”. It is in this cultivated environment that Bernard de Ventadour, one of the most famous troubadours, was initiated into the creation of poetry.
In 1968, Pierre Pottier, a former metalworker from the Aisne, fell in love with Ventadour.
With the money from a “Masterpieces in Danger” prize (the famous television programme), he bought the castle to restore it and planned to turn it into a cultural and educational centre dedicated to the Middle Ages, architecture and the stone trades. Next owner, Mr. Bernard, has embarked on an ambitious restoration of the castle after winning the Loto du Patrimoine in 2019, organized by Stéphane Berne.
The site is now open to the public.