The Château de Chalus-Chabrol is a castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 in the commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

of Châlus

Châlus

Châlus is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.-History:Châlus' is where Richard I of England was wounded by a crossbow bolt and killed as a result of the wound...

 in the département of Haute-Vienne

Haute-Vienne

Haute-Vienne is a French department named after the Vienne River. It is one of three departments that together constitute the French region of Limousin.The chief and largest city is Limoges...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

The castle dominates the town of Châlus. It consists today of an isolated circular keep

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

 (12th century) and a residential building constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries, enlarged in the 17th century.

The castle protected the southern approach to Limoges

Limoges

Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....

 and the north-south route between Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, as well as the ancient east-west route linking the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

It is most famous for the death of Richard the Lionheart, who died there from a crossbow wound while besieging the castle in 1199. His entrails are buried in the castle chapel. The castle is also linked with Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...

.

Château de Chalus-Chabrol has been listed as a monument historique

Monument historique

A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...

by the French Ministry of Culture since 1925. The castle is open to visitors.

External links

• Ministry of Culture database entry for Château de Chalus-Chabrol

Source

• www.culture.gouv.fr, accessed 25 Feb 2007.