Château de Conros

The Château de Conros is a medieval castle, later heavily modified, situated in Arpajon-sur-Cère in the Cantal département of France.

Robert d'Humières, grandfather of the present owners, was born here. He was a noted literary figure who translated the works of Rudyard Kipling into French.

Description

Built by Astorg d'Aurillac in around 1130, the site occupies a rocky outcrop overlooking the Cère river. Later converted into a comfortable Renaissance dwelling, the château remains a family home. The gardens were redesigned in the 19th century.

The castle was recorded in 1230 as a super novo edificio, later as a repario, and in 1269 as a castrum.

The present building has several distinct parts: the north tower (the oldest), the south tower, a rectangular two-floored residence, a pavilion wing with lantern covering forming a dovecote. The whole is surmounted by another floor supported on corbels.

The château incorporates sections from various periods. There are elements from the 13th century in the cellars and ground floor and from the 15th century on the first floor. The bulk dates from the 16th century, with heavy remodelling in the 17th century to the upper floors, notably the Imperial dome.

The stone-covered roof has a surface area of 1200 m². There are 70 windows, some of which retain their 18th-century woodwork.

The Château de Conros is open to visitors. It was added to the list of monuments historiques by the French Ministry of Culture on 30 September 1991.

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Château de Conros" and modified on 23 July 2019 under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license.