Forteresse de Cluis-Dessous
A communal ruin, open access
A fortress from the 12th and 15th centuries on a spur above the Bouzanne. It belongs to the commune, entry is free, and volunteers have been restoring it for fifty years.
A 12th-century keep on its motte, a gatehouse flanked by towers with the remains of its drawbridge, curtain walls, a residential wing from the 14th and 15th centuries. Listed as a historic monument since 1935.
It belonged to the lords of Déols, then, much later, to la Grande Mademoiselle, cousin of Louis XIV.
The recent history is that of an association. Founded in 1973, it runs volunteer work camps every summer that reinforce the walls with lime and the local red sand, under the supervision of the Architecte des Bâtiments de France and after surveys by INRAP. Half a century of volunteer work.
Open access all year, free. Guided tours on request. A summer show every other year.