Historic site and monument in Montpezat-sous-Bauzon, Ardèche

Opening : All year round, daily.

There are only a few sections of walls of the polygonal enclosure of the old castle of Montlaur, formerly called the Chastelas, built around the twelfth century on an eminence dominating both the valleys of the Fontaulière and the Pourseille.

The lords of Montlaur thus controlled the important road of the Pal linking Viviers to Puy. Below, on the south side, was developed a castral village which has disappeared entirely in favor of the Lower Town. The castle itself was no longer inhabited at the time of the Revolution.
It is there that in 1519 was interrogated, imprisoned and sentenced to be burned alive like witch Catherine Peyretonne, of the hamlet of Villaret.
You can access this site by a paved alley (rue de Montlaur) lined with old houses whose starting point in the main street of Bourg is marked by a plaque.