Maison Forte de Reignac

Maison Forte de Reignac: the cliff castle

The fortified house of Reignac is preserved in exceptional condition since the 14th century and entirely period. Well-known in the region, it is France's only completely intact troglodytic "cliff castle" (i.e. built into the rock).

Listed historical monumentIt's the strangest, the most secret and the most mysterious in the Dordogne, and it's even said to be haunted...

Much larger than you might suspect from the outside, its cliff-set facade conceals impressive underground and overhead rooms: grand salle d'Honneur, salle d'armes, dining room, salle des Grands Hommes, kitchen, bedrooms, chapel, dungeon, cul de basse-fosse (dungeon), cellar.

After travelling the world, an internationally renowned permanent exhibition on the the theme of torture from the Middle Ages to the present day is now housed at the Reignac stronghold. A collection of over sixty authentic, capital torture instruments, as well as engravings and paintings from the period, present the terrible history of human horrors and cruelty. While the instruments on display belong to the past, more diabolical and sophisticated ones have been created and are still in use today.
The aim of the exhibition is to raise public awareness of the practice of torture in the world today.