France · Restored
Château de la Roche
Château de La Roche is a medieval castle in Saint-Priest-la-Roche in the Loire department of France, originally sited on a rocky platform overlooking the Loire. Built by at least the 13th century to control and levy tolls on the river, it fell into disuse and later restoration; modern works and the Villerest Dam have left it standing on an island in the reservoir. It was fully restored in 1996 and is accessible to visitors.
Its prime
1290
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1290
What Château de la Roche looked like in its prime.
A compact stone stronghold built directly on a steep rocky platform rising about 30 metres above the Loire, seen as a cluster of connected defensive and domestic buildings whose lower walls descend in rough masonry to the rock. At its prime the roofline would read as a tight series of pitched roofs and chimneys above stout stone walls; the riverside face drops sharply to the water with limited openings for surveillance and access.
Its story
The story of Château de la Roche.
La Roche was built by at least the thirteenth century on a rocky platform overlooking the Loire, sited to control the river and levy tolls on its traffic; in 1290 Girard de La Roche paid homage to the Count of Forez for his house at La Roche. The castle later fell into disuse.
An industrialist from Roanne bought the castle and restored it in the Gothic style, intending it as a second home, and it was finally bought by the commune for a symbolic one franc. The Villerest Dam then remade its setting entirely: the castle now stands on an island in the reservoir, 20 km south of Roanne. Fully restored in 1996, it is open to visitors.
Step inside
4 places to explore in 1290.
The record describes 4 distinct spots at Château de la Roche, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Recreate Château de la Roche with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Château de la Roche.
The families that held Château de la Roche for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
La Roche
Girard de La Roche held the house at La Roche, paying homage to the Count of Forez for it in 1290.
From the archive
Château de la Roche on paper: the measured plan and period views.
The survey plan and photographs below are the ground truth this page's reconstructions are checked against, drawn and photographed while the castle was still a working garrison. Every image is public-domain or openly licensed, with its source named.
8
1858 · Viollet-le-Duc, Dictionnaire raisonné, t. 3 (1858)
Public domain
