The Chateau de Commarque, in the Dordogne region of southwest France, was founded during the 12th century by the abbot of Sarlat, who established a simple wooden tower there near the meeting of two important regional thoroughfares. Later, a stone keep replaced the original wooden structure and the castle expanded into a larger complex, a protective point around which a small village formed. (...)
The Chateau de Commarque, in the Dordogne region of southwest France, was founded during the 12th century by the abbot of Sarlat, who established a simple wooden tower there near the meeting of two important regional thoroughfares. Later, a stone keep replaced the original wooden structure and the castle expanded into a larger complex, a protective point around which a small village formed. In the middle of the 14th century, the chateau was taken by the Beynacs, a powerful family in the area, and it was subsequently occupied by military forces during the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453) and the French Wars of Religion (1562–98). The building’s prominence gradually faded, and the complex was abandoned in the early 17th century, likely because of its relative geographic isolation. Since 1943 the site has been a monument historique, a designation bestowed by the French Ministry of Culture.
