Castle of Pesteils, Medieval castle in Polminhac, France.
The Castle of Pesteils is a medieval fortress in the Cère valley in the Auvergne, built around a square stone keep with a residential wing added in front of it. The keep rises clearly above the valley floor, while the attached living quarters reflect later building phases grafted onto the original defensive core.
Jean de Foulhols had the defensive tower built during the Hundred Years War in the late 14th century. The Cassagnes de Beaufort de Miramon family acquired the property in the early 17th century and has lived there ever since.
The 15th-century frescoes covering the interior walls show scenes from Greek mythology and are still visible today. The restored old kitchen gives a concrete sense of how daily life in a lived-in manor house looked across the centuries.
The castle can be visited independently, with wax figures placed throughout the rooms to help bring different periods of daily life to life. A visit on a quieter weekday allows more time to take in each room without feeling rushed.
The castle still belongs to the same family that acquired it over 400 years ago, and parts of the building remain in everyday use by them today. This means some rooms feel more like a private home than a historic site.
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