Château de Bellenaves, Medieval castle in Bellenaves, France.

Château de Bellenaves is a medieval castle in the small town of Bellenaves featuring preserved walls from the 13th century, a main tower, and sculptural details from that same period. The building also displays mullioned windows from the 15th century that reflect different phases of construction and architectural evolution.

The castle was built in the 13th century by the Jehan de Bellenave family on top of foundations from an earlier 11th-century structure. That earlier structure itself was based on remains of a Gallo-Roman villa, showing how the site remained important across the centuries.

The Jehan family held Bellenaves from the 13th century until Charlotte de Bellenave, sole heiress, brought it by marriage to Blain Loup at the end of the 16th century. In 1496 Louis Ier Jehan married Madeleine d'Anjou, illegitimate daughter of King René, in the presence of the king and queen. The seigneurie then passed by marriage to the Rochechouart-Chandeniers in 1646, the Gillier de Clérambault in 1675 and the Pardaillan, ducs d'Antin, in 1722.

The free visit covers the exterior surroundings of the castle, the old enclosure wall and the large entrance hall; the interior rooms are not part of the visit. The castle stands at the northern end of the village of Bellenaves, facing the church of Saint-Martin. The building is inscribed as a monument historique.

During World War II the vaulted rooms of the castle stored the stained-glass windows of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral and of the Sainte-Chapelle, removed from the capital for safekeeping. The building thus sheltered these glass panels far from the city.