Chaméane Castle

Chaméane Castle, locally known as Château de Chaméane, lies in the hamlet of the same name in the Puy-de-Dôme department in France.

The name of Chaméane was already mentioned in 995. A priory was established here, consisting of a church and a fortified residence. The lordship, initially tied to the priory of Sauxillanges, was transferred to the powerful abbey of La Chaise-Dieu in the early 14th century.

Before the end of the Middle Ages, during the 16th century, the influence of the abbey of La Chaise-Dieu declined, and a secular seigneurial castle succeeded the monks' fortified residence, in the center of an enclosure flanked by round towers. Later additions gave the residence a more comfortable character. 

At the end of the 19th century, Chaméane Castle was owned by Countess Mathilde Sallier de La Tour, a Franco-Italian noblewoman. She had the enclosure wall restored in Troubadour style.

On July 30, 1944, German troops dynamited and burned both the presbytery and the castle in retaliation for the presence of local resistance fighters. The castle, then owned by the Dukes of Calvello and the Princes of Castelciccala, was severely damaged and later abandoned. Years later, it was bought by a French individual.

Today, Chaméane Castle is privately owned. Its owner lives in the outbuildings and appears to be slowly restoring the castle. It can not be visited. A nice ruin in a quiet hamlet.

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