# Château de Campagnac A Périgord château at the gates of Sarlat - **Place**: Sarlat-la-Canéda - **Address**: Lieu-dit Campagnac, 24200 Sarlat-la-Canéda · Dordogne - **Period**: XIVᵉ–XIXᵉ siècles - **Type**: Château - **Protection**: Registered historic monument - **Mérimée record**: PA24000020 - **Coordinates**: 44.9239, 1.1897 About 4.7 km north-west of Sarlat, this Périgord château, built between the 14th and 19th centuries, is today owned by the municipality. Its stair tower has been Registered as a Monument historique since 1998, and the whole estate since 2025. ## History - **XIVᵉ siècle — The construction** The château is said to have been built by a member of the Plamon family. - **1348 — The Hundred Years' War** An English force takes the château. - **1592 — The Wars of Religion** The Sieur de Pelvézy seizes the château. - **XVIᵉ siècle — The Roux de Campagnac and the d'Abzac families** The estate passes through the hands of successive owners. - **1830 — The Baron de Dampierre** The château is bought by Baron Pierre Stanislas Alexandre de Dampierre. - **vers 1960 — Orphelinat** La moitié du domaine de Campagnac est louée à une institution religieuse, celle de Temniac, pour y héberger des jeunes garçons orphelins. Quatre-vingts enfants y sont installés jusqu'en 1975. - **1983 — Purchase by the municipality** The municipality of Sarlat acquires the château. ## Figures - **La famille Plamon · XIVᵉ siècle · Builders** The château de Campagnac was built in the 14th century by a member of the Plamon family, the same patrician family that gave its name to the hôtel Plamon, in the heart of Sarlat. - **Baron de Dampierre · propriétaire en 1830 · Owner** In 1830, Baron Pierre Stanislas Alexandre de Dampierre acquired the château de Campagnac, which would then pass through several hands before being bought back by the municipality of Sarlat in 1980. ## Places - **The spiral staircase · The stonemason's tour de force inside the polygonal tower** Housed inside the southern polygonal tower which joins the two main wings, this stone spiral staircase features a rare characteristic: its shaft is covered by a helical barrel vault turning around the central newel. Transverse arch-bands rest on prismatic corbels, evidence of highly technical medieval stonework. It is precisely this element that motivated the château's first listing as a historic monument, by decree of 5 March 1998. - **The wall walk · Defensive remnant of the Sarlat outpost** The southern tower has preserved its wall walk on machicolations, supported by three-stepped corbels. A direct reminder of the château's original military role, it evokes the strategic function of Campagnac in the 13th and 14th centuries, when the building was among the advanced defences of Sarlat against English troops. These features crown the southern façade and place the construction within the lineage of Périgord's fortified sites. ## Key facts - **1348 — Taken during the Hundred Years' War** an English force seized the Château de Campagnac. - **1592 — Taken during the Wars of Religion** the Sieur de Pelvézy and his brothers seized the château. - **1983 — Purchased by the municipality** the château was acquired by the municipality of Sarlat for 1.8 million francs. ## Frequently asked questions ### Can you go to the château de Campagnac? The château belongs to the town of Sarlat, which bought it in 1983. It stands in a large wooded estate on the edge of the medieval town. ### Why is it linked to the Plamon family? The château is said to have been built in the fourteenth century by a member of the Plamon family. It is the same patrician family that gave its name to the Hôtel Plamon in the heart of Sarlat. ### What earned it protected status? The spiral staircase in the polygonal tower, whose shaft is covered by a barrel vault turning on the central newel. It is that feat of stonecutting that justified the listing of 5 March 1998. ### Was it ever used for anything other than living? Around 1960, half the estate was leased to a religious institution which housed eighty orphan boys there. They stayed until 1975. ## Links - Full page: https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda/chateau-de-campagnac - Town: https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda - Reference: https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/PA24000020 - Reference: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q22996174 - Reference: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Campagnac_(Sarlat-la-Can%C3%A9da) --- Source: OPUS Heritage, https://opusheritage.com/en/villes/sarlat-la-caneda/chateau-de-campagnac. Content published by the town of Sarlat-la-Canéda.