Castel of Berzème

Only fortified castle on the plateau of Coiron, it may have been built during the 15th century, when the Lestranges were the lords of the area. The castle then belonged in 1760 to the Fayon family from Privas, to the baron of Montbrun, lord of the Clap and his wife Suzanne de Joviac. Then it went to Antoine de Fayon, known as "l'Abbé de Montbrun" in 1772 and to the Roqueplane family in 1782. In the 19th century, the castle was home to poet Eugène de Villedieu, who also was "préfet" of Ardèche.
Built in basalt, a black rock from Coiron, it is actually a fortified house: a square building with two crenellated round towers originally on the Southern side, which were probably topped down on Richelieu's order. The main courtyard is on the Southern side and there are additional buildings on the Northern side, complemented by service quarters for farming.
The castle was still inhabited in 1986, but it was not correctly maintained. Ten years later, it almost was a ruin. It was put on the market and a real estate developer was interested, but the town decided to buy it to protect it. Some parts were listed historical monuments in 1997. The farming estate had 17 hectares, four of them being meadows. In the 19th century, one of the landlords, Eugène de Villedieu, created an arboretum made of noble trees, which is now handled by the ONF.