HAUTEFORT
Géographie
Located to the east of the Dordogne department and watered to the north for about six kilometers by Lourde, a tributary of the Auvézère, the commune of Hautefort includes two distinct towns: Saint-Agnan in the valley and Hautefort on the hill dominated by by the castle. The town is now administratively attached to the Pays du Périgord noir (Sarlat-la-Canéda sector) but is nevertheless part of the district of Périgueux.
Located at an equal distance from Brive-la-Gaillarde and Périgueux, the village of Hautefort arouses the interest of tourists thanks to its castle, its Museum of Medicine and the charm of its narrow streets and old stone buildings typically Périgord.
Hautefort is now accessible by the A89 motorway (La Bachellerie interchange) then by the departmental road 704 towards Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche and Limoges.
Environment
The town has two remarkable sites.
On nearly 31 hectares, the wooded part of the park of the castle has been listed since 1935. The entire western part of the village, adjoining the previous site on 10 hectares, has been listed since 1974.
Here is an official link, click and enjoy your visit !
History
Lordship having belonged successively to the families of Lastours, Laron-Lastours, Born (represented in particular by the famous troubadour Bertran de Born, lord of Hautefort), it fell in the XIVe century to the Gontaut family, by the marriage of the last heiress Marthe de Born with Hélie de Gontaut. The latter abandoned his original surname to take that of Hautefort. This line obtained in 1614 that Hautefort be erected in marquisate.
Between 1790 and 1794, the commune of Hautefort absorbed the neighboring one of Saint-Aignan which was brought, during the revolutionary period of the National Convention (1792-1795), to bear the name of Aignan-Haute-Vue.
In 1824, the town absorbed that of La Nouaillette.
In 1827, the commune of Saint-Agnan-d'Hautefort took the name of Hautefort.
List of lords then Marquis de Hautefort:
* v. 1030-1046 Guy de Lastours
* After 1160 Constantin de Born after his marriage to Agnès de Lastours, heiress of the castle, and his brother Bertran de Born (v.1140 - v.1215)
* v.1388-v.1421 Jean Ier de Hautefort (+ v.1421), son of Marthe de Born and Hélie de Gontaut
* v. 1421-1470 Antoine de Hautefort (+1470), his brother
* 1470-v.1477 Arnaud de Hautefort (+ v.1477), his son
* v 1477-1524 Jean II de Hautefort (+1524), his son
* 1524-v.1555 Jean III de Hautefort (c.1500-v.1555), his son
* v.1555-v.1565 Gilbert Ier de Hautefort (+ v.1565), his son
* v. 1565-1640 François Ier de Hautefort (1547-1640), 1st marquis in 1614, his son
* 1614-1616 Charles-François de Hautefort (c.1580-1616), 2nd marquis, his son
* 1640-1680 Jacques-François de Hautefort (1610-1680), 3rd marquis, marshal of the camp, his son
* 1680-1693 Gilbert II de Hautefort (1612-1693), 4th marquis, marshal of the camp, his brother
* 1693-1727 François II Marie de Hautefort (1654-1727), 5th marquis, marshal of the camp, his son
* 1727-1777 Emmanuel-Dieudonné de Hautefort (1700-1777), 6th marquis, field marshal, his nephew
* 1777-1805 Armand-Charles de Hautefort (1741-1805), 7th marquis, his son
* 1805-1867 Emmanuel-Armand de Hautefort (1797-1867), 8th marquis, his son
* 1867-1903 Armand-Alexandre de Hautefort (1823-1903), 9th marquis, general, his son
The general, Marquis de Hautefort adopted his son-in-law, Fernand Stoffels who was authorized by a decision of the Council of State in 1892, to add his name and to bear the titles of Hautefort. Their descendants today bear the name of Stoffels d'Hautefort.
Places and monuments
* Hautefort castle, listed as a historic monument in 1958 and its gardens in 1967, can be visited
* Château des Charreaux, XVIIe and XVIIIe centuries, listed as historical monuments in 1979
* Hautefort Hospital (1670-1717), listed in 1931, transformed into a museum of medicine, visitable
Personalities linked to the municipality
* Bertran de Born (v.1145-v.1215), Lord of Hautefort, one of the most famous troubadours; he sang love as well as war.
* Eugène Le Roy (1836-1907), writer, author in particular of Jacquou le croquant, was born in Hautefort.
* Maurice Durosoy (1898-1988), general and writer, buried in Hautefort.
* Guy des Cars (1911-1993), writer, buried in the Hautefort cemetery.
* Jean Desplat (1923-1987). FNFL of the summer of 1940 (Jean-Jacques Gillot, "The Perigordian sailors of the free French naval forces", in bulletin of the Historical and Archaeological Society of Périgord, 4th quarter 2011.
