Beauvoir en Royans
It is hard to imagine that these gutted walls once housed one of the most prestigious castles in the valley, nicknamed as its apogee the “Dauphiné’s Versailles”. It had over 1 000 windows and could host 2 000 people for special events and parties, at which pomp and excessiveness abounded. It was the preferred residence of the Dauphins and was inhabited from 1258 to 1349. The castle was the stage upon which one part of the Dauphiné history was played out.
Did you know ? The Dauphins. In the 11th century the Albion counts, originally from Vienne, took over the region located west of the
Alps
. Nicknamed the “Dauphins”, they lent the name Dauphiné to their vast domain. Humbert II, the last of them, surrendered the province to the King of France in 1349. Up until 1628, the Dauphiné belonged to the pretenders to the throne of
France
, who bore the title of Dauphin.
