Murol Castle

Murol Castle, locally known as Château de Murol en Saint-Amant, lies in the town of Saint-Amant-Tallende in the Puy-de-Dôme department in France.

A fortified house here is first mentioned in records from the 13th century. Named Murol after one of its later owners, it is not to be confused with its older namesake, also situated in the Puy-de-Dôme department.

The castle is likely of Romanesque origin and by the 14th century was occupied by members of the Knights Hospitaller, which included the Lord of La Tour d’Auvergne. At that time, the village church was incorporated into the castle complex, and murals from the 13th to 15th centuries discovered in the chapel confirm its early construction.

Over the following centuries, several prominent Auvergnat families took possession of the castle, including the La Tour d’Auvergne, Murol, Canillac, and eventually the Valois, when Queen Margaret of Valois visited nearby Saint-Amant in 1586.

In 1875, the castle underwent an ambitious restoration under architect Louis Bruyère, a pupil of Viollet-le-Duc, for its owner, Anatole de La Tour Fondue. The building was significantly enlarged and remodeled in neo-Gothic style: an additional floor was added, battlements were reworked, towers were given pointed roofs, and an impressive entrance façade with a drawbridge and round tower was created. Many new elements were introduced, including 19 decorative gargoyles.

One can still see the portal adorned with the arms of the La Tour Fondue family and of Cardinal Jean de Murol. In 1921, the castle was inherited by another branch of the La Tour Fondue family, who still own it today. 

Today, Murol Castle is privately owned and not open to the public. A nice little castle, with a fairytale-like appearance.

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