Access from the centre of Saint-Laurent-du-Pape: take the RD266 towards Gilhac-et-Bruzac as far as the Col de Gilhac, then take the track leading up to the château. The site is private.
Pierre-Gourde castle - from the Latin "petragorda" meaning "gord stone" (due to the crumbly nature of the rock) - probably dates back to the 11th century.
The feudal castle, located at the top of a rocky outcrop, played an important role in the security of the area's inhabitants. In return for the payment of a hen, serfs could come and live there in safety. Then, during the Wars of Religion (16th-17th centuries), the castle, which almost always remained in Protestant hands, was rarely stormed. Jacques de Chambaud, a Protestant leader, assembled troops there in 1586 to halt the march of the Catholic army, but it was never seriously attacked (especially as the mountainous site lent itself perfectly to resistance).
The ruinous state of the castle can be explained by the fact that man used it as a quarry when castles were abandoned (17th century). The fortress is now no more than a shadow, and little remains of the castle itself apart from shreds of the walls of the main building.
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