Rochetaillée Castle

Rochetaillée Castle, locally known as Château de Rochetaillée, lies in the village of the same name in the Loire department in France.

Rochetaillée Castle was first documented in 1173 through a feudal agreement between the Count of Forez and the Archbishop of Lyon, which specified that the castle warden owed direct homage to the count. It was possibly already founded in the early 11th century.

Ownership passed from the Abbey of Valbenoîte in the 12th century to the vassal Jarez family in the 13th and 14th centuries. Improvements to the castle in the 15th century reflect a gradual shift toward comfort.

During the French Wars of Religion, Rochetaillée Castle was razed by Huguenot leader Sarras in 1562 and retaken in 1589 after a 19-day siege by the Catholic Ligue under Jacques Mitte de Chevrières and Anne d’Urfé.

Ownership later transferred to the Badol de Forcieu family, then to Jacques Bernou de Nantas around 1668.  and eventually to the Baron of Rochetaillée in the early 19th century. After the French Revolution, the castle had already fallen into serious disrepair and gradually became a ruin.

The castle ruin occupies a quartz promontory more than 13 metres high, enclosed by curtain walls forming a terrace of about 500 m². A semi-circular barbican protects the western entrance and leads towards the main gate of the castle. It overlooks the Pilat slopes and the watershed between the Loire and Rhône basins. Three of its original four towers remain today.

Currently, Rochetaillée Castle is freely accessible. Entry to the south keep was closed when I visited; I later learned it might be accessible by key from the local town hall.

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