The Château de la Roque, also known as La Roque des Péagers, is located in the town of Meyrals, in the Dordogne, in the heart of the Périgord noir, 15 km west of Sarlat-la-Canéda.
It was built on the foundations of an oppidum from the 12th century on a cliff face overlooking the Moulant valley, a tributary of the Dordogne.
Primarily defensive, the building has been redesigned and embellished to become more comfortable.
If a dry moat separates it from the hill, the courtyard is accessible via a 17th century chatelet. The lodgings are made up of square buildings (15th century) with towers, one square, the other round, adorned with machicolations, connected by a Renaissance-style pavilion.
Part of the roofing is in slate. In the square tower (the keep) is an oratory adorned with remarkable 16th century wall frescoes depicting scenes from the Passion in particular, and an entombment where portraits of the Lords François de Beynac and Jeanne de Salignac are visible.
It is in this castle where he was born in 1703 that, becoming archbishop of Paris, Christophe de Beaumont was exiled by Louis XV, the king reproaching the prelate for having condemned Rousseau's work "Emile ou l'Education ", which had fueled tensions with Parliament.
Private property, listed in the Inventory, cannot be visited, but the beautiful silhouette of the castle can mark a walk in this village of character. Information on +33 5 53 31 45 45.
