Finou Castle: A Former Noble Stronghold in Lalinde, France
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 2.8
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- French
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page4 sections
History
Finou Castle is a former noble stronghold in Lalinde, in France’s Dordogne department. Its buildings were constructed in stages between the 15th and 18th centuries.
Successive family ownership
The property passed through the Villardey, d’Espaigne, Blanc de Lauvezin, de La Cropte, and de La Valette families. It is also known as Laffinoux Castle.
From private estate to employee retreat
In the late 19th century, Hilarion Ballande, a French stage actor and theater director, bought the château. The Liard family acquired it after 1945 and began renovations in the 1960s. The château received French historic-monument protection on 29 November 1948.
In the 1970s, the Liard family sold the estate to ORTF, France’s former national broadcasting organization, which used it as a holiday center. France Télévisions now owns the property and makes it available to its employees through its works council, a body representing employees in dealings with their employer.
Remains
An open-air theater stands among the estate’s known architectural features. Ballande had it built on the grounds as part of his development of the property.
