The Château de Crussol is a mostly-ruined 12th century

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

castle in the ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' of

Saint-Péray Saint-Péray (; oc, Sant Pèire d'Ai) is a commune in the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southern France. Population See also * Château de Crussol, located on the territory of the commune. *Communes of the Ard ...

that dominates the valley of

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

, just opposite Valence in the Ardèche ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'',

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône ...

région France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collect ...

'' of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Location

Located over the peak of the hill of Crussol, at the edge of a cliff over 200 metres above surrounding plain, the castle overlooks

in the west, and

Guilherand-Granges Guilherand-Granges () is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France. It is a suburb of Valence, Drôme. It is one of the most populous commune in the Ardéche department, after Annonay and Aubenas, and before Tournon-sur-Rhône. ...

and Valence in the east. The site comprises about 3

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s, including the ''Vilette'', a small hamlet of about a hundred houses, and the castle itself at the top of the hill. The entire grounds are enclosed by ramparts that are still quite visible.

History

The hill of Crussol has been occupied since

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

times. Initially, it was the site of a temple, which was subsequently extended with a fortified building to the south in the course of the 5th century, but was abandoned in later centuries for the present site. The first

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, probably built in the 10th century, was made of wood and was destroyed in a fire. It was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century, by a lord named Gerald Basset, in order to control the existing transportation route along the Rhône River. At the end of the 15th century, the Crussols were linked by marriage to the

Uzès Uzès (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. In 2017, it had a population of 8,454. Uzès lies about north-northeast of Nîmes, west of Avignon and south-east of Alès. History Originally ''Uc ...

. The castle was abandoned for the more comfortable Château d'Uzès. During the

Religious Wars A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

, the castle was taken and set afire on several occasions by various warlords. It was finally sacked in the 17th century. On September 3, 1855, a mine explosion in the quarry under the castle destroyed part of the building. Lightning further destroyed part of the keep in 1952. The site was classified as an official historical monument of France (french: monument historique) in 1927. Château de Crussol (ruines) The ''

'' of

bought the ruins in 1984, even though the site is technically within the boundaries of the ''commune'' of

. The inter-communal syndicate of these two communes and Soyons are jointly engaged in the restoration of the castle.

References

* *

External links

Château de Crussol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crussol, Chateau de Ruined castles in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Monuments historiques of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Ardèche