Tag Archives: Château de Pechrigal

French Castle Video Tour: 14th C. ‘Chateau Pechrigal’

The 14th-century Château de Pechrigal – where composer, poet and author Léo Ferré lived from1963 until 1968 – stands three kilometres outside the village of Gourdon.

Pech-Rigal means royal hill in old local French dialect, befitting its hilltop position.

The 67-hectare plot includes meadows, tennis courts, a pool and half a hectare of Merlot vineyards, giving 4,000 bottles of wine a year.

The chateau, a grand affair of 17 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, guard house, pigeonnier, wine cellar, restored farmhouse and two outhouses, was bought and renovated by a Frenchman in 1998.

He transformed the crumbling property into a luxurious second home, occasionally used for private events and weddings.

It had fallen into disrepair after rebel composer Ferré left it unlived-in for 25 years.

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