Château de Montbrun

#24 Château de Montbrun
Dournazac, Haute-Vienne, France
1178-9 & 1427-40
This is NOT an official Lego site

There are remnants of several ancient structures on the domain of Montbrun, but the first castle was built on the site by orders of King Henry II of England by the knight Aimery Brun when he returned from the Crusades in 1178. He called his new castle Trados after the old Roman name for the domain. All that remains of that castle is the old square donjon and the well. In 1199 Richard the Lionhearted, Duke of Aquataine and King of England, returned to the valley. Having been successfully ransomed by his mother Eleanor of Aquataine, Richard arrived in pursuit of the traitor Ademar [Aimar], Viscount of Limoges, a fractious Aquatainian petty noble. Richard beseiged Ademar's castle at Châlus-Chabrol. There he was wounded by a crossbow and died 12 days later, probably at Montbrun Castle. Pierre Brun, Aimery's son, commanded Richard's army which quickly burned Châlus-Chabrol to the ground. The Lords of Montbrun bearly maintained the castle through the Black Death [1348-50] and the Hundred Years War [the Bruns remained loyal to the English].

Montbrun was renovated beginning in 1427 by another Pierre Brun, the Archbishop of Limoges and a confidant of the new French king Charles VII, with the round towers that are present today. King Charles failed to make any successful inroads in ousting the English and in 1444 Agne IV of Oliergues, Viscount of Turenne, almost destroyed the castle. A period of quiet was followed by an attack by the Protestant Huguenots in 1569. While Montbrun was not taken, the castle was severely damaged again. Montbrun was sold in the 17th century to the Lambertie family, and then became the property of the Pompadours and Conans, among others, by marriage or inheritance. The castle was ordered to be destroyed during the French Revolution, but the job was not finished. The exterior of the castle was restored by the de la Bonne family at the end of the 19th century, but the interior was destroyed by fire during World War I. Modest restoration was done in the 1960's by the last of the de la Bonnes and the castle sold in 1992 to a speculator who practically emptied the castle. In 1995 the castle and its domain were bought by Maarten Lamers, who has completely restored the castle to its former splendor. It is currently for sale: it's roughly 36,000 square feet includes 16 bedrooms, a library, a billiard room, 3 dining rooms seating from a few to more than 100, and much more. The asking price is €25,000,000, and it is a very lovely castle (see below)!! If you're interested, you can contact Andreas Goudappel at http://www.castle-forsale.com! Please note that the images and other essentials on the website are copyrighted.


The main gate of Montbrun Castle	And as seen from the courtyard	The main stair tower and the well.	The Great Hall, which can seat 200 for dinner!	Offices & Library in Montbrun Castle	Two of the 16 Bedrooms


Basement Plan of the Donjon Tower	Ground Floor Plan	1st Floor Plan	2nd Floor Plan	Roof & Battlement Plan	Plan of the Upper Floors of the 1178-9 Donjon


East View	South Southeast View	West Southwest View

Build Your Own

Lego Plan	East Elevation