Castle of Miremont, Medieval castle in Chalvignac, France.

Castle of Miremont is a ruined stone fortress on a basalt plateau at 640 metres, where the Labiou meets the Dordogne. A tall, broken wall of grey-brown masonry survives, with a rectangular window opening near its top and a dark opening lower down. The entrance lay at the south end beneath a square tower, and a drawbridge crossed a ditch to a second gate.

The castle is first recorded when Pierre Leroux, Bishop of Clermont, besieged it in 1105; its lordship was held in fief from the lords of Charlus and in rear-fief from the bishops of Clermont. In 1357 the English captain Robert Knoll took it by surprise and installed Mondonet de Badefol as captain. On 15 April 1574, after Henri de Bourbon seized Mauriac, Gilles de Montal besieged the castle, battering it with 900 cannon shots and partly demolishing the keep, but the garrison held and the siege was lifted. It was inscribed as a monument historique on 26 March 1973.

The castle gave its name to the Miremont family: Guy de Miremont, lord of the place, founded the lineage, and in 1255 Guy de Mauriac held Miremont jointly with Tournemire. In 1580 François de Mauriac sold his share to Claude de Lévis, lord of Charlus, and by the end of the 16th century the Saint-Exupéry family had gathered all the joint lordships into its hands.

The ruins stand at 640 m on a basalt plateau above the confluence of the Labiou and the Dordogne, reached on foot through woods. The ground is uneven and the wall tops are broken, so wear sturdy shoes and keep to the visible paths. The site is unprotected and can be visited at any time of day.

In 1585 the co-lords Claude de Lévis-Charlus and Henri de Bourbon-Malause divided the castle by agreement: Lévis received a main building flanked by a square and a round tower, the bakery and a walled courtyard. The entrance gate, drawbridge, woods and chapel stayed shared, but each lord kept his own bell.