Le Crest Tower

The Le Crest Tower, locally known as Tour du Crest, stands above the village of the same name in the Puy-de-Dôme department in France.

The Tour du Crest is the principal surviving element of the former castle of Le Crest.

The origins of the seigneurie of Le Crest date back to at least the early 11th century. The site belonged to a local family with the same name. A castle at Le Crest is already mentioned in 1111.

During the 13th century, the lordship was divided among several noble families. Around 1250, the seigneurie was shared between the families of Bussières and Saint-Floret, while Géraud de Chaslus, lord of Chaslus-les-Bussières and Le Crest, transferred his share to Robert Dauphin by marriage in 1317 through his daughter Catherine. In 1325, Robert Dauphin sold the property to Marie of Flanders, widow of Robert VII, Count of Auvergne. Later, in 1386, John II, Count of Auvergne, transferred part of the lordship to Édouard de Chazeron. Through a series of marriages, the estate was subsequently passed down to the families of Vienne, Motier de La Fayette, and Daillon.

In 1666, Henri de Daillon exchanged Le Crest with Claude d’Allègre, who sold it in 1670 to Antoine Ribeyre. The property later belonged to several other owners before being reunited in 1770 by Jean-Gilbert-Alyre de Langeac, who acquired the remaining portion of the fief.

Le Crest Castle had a complex defensive system. It once sat atop a basalt plateau surrounded by cliffs, providing a natural defensive position overlooking the surrounding countryside. At the base of the rocky plateau, a second enclosure encircled the castle. Below that, a third set of lower walls protected the village itself. Today, only a few parts of the medieval defenses remain. The most noticeable are the Le Crest Tower, now topped with a bell and used as the village clock tower, along with some sections of the ramparts and a tower from the first enclosure.

Today, the plateau serves as a public village park. The Le Crest Tower is not accessible. A nice castle remnant in a quaint village.

Gallery