The conical tower of the fortified house, which could be seen from the road on the way into the village, has completely disappeared. She collapsed in the fire. On the ground, the blackened slate tiles crack under Adrien's shoesone of the two partners who bought the building that everyone in Limeyrat calls the Château de l'étang: “The roof has completely collapsed. As we said yesterday with the mayor, this house is a bit like the 'Notre-Dame' of Limeyrat. It hurts our hearts.”
Wednesday morning, he was in bed in a room in the building when he smelled smoke : “I heard the noise, the crackling like a barbecue. I understood immediately that it was very serious. I ran to Michel's room to tell him: 'There's a fire. We have to get out of here.” He took a fire extinguisher, he wanted to open the door upstairs but I pulled him back saying it was no use.”
The fortified house bought less than a year ago
The fire started from the attic of the castle, where the two owners had rarely gone up since they bought this 13th century estate in February. The castle built in the 19th century was uninhabited for years, it was only sometimes rented as a lodging. It was bought by Michel Campan, a cousin of the Unknowns actor, and Adrien Amasse, an entrepreneur who created the company Wellness Wave, which offers unusual wellness retreats on sailboats.
The two men joined forces with project to build unusual habitats on 30 hectares of land of the estate, surrounded by woods. Domes of their design, completely open, where you can admire the stars and nature. The first are due to open next year, and the fire does not affect their schedule.
“The most important thing is solidarity”
“It’s certain that we concretely lost everything”says Michel Campan. “But the most important thing is solidarity. In 15 minutes, the firefighters from Thenon were there, the large ladder from Périgueux arrived in 30 minutes, they stayed all day, plus the mayor who made a meal, who brought out the terrine, the wine, the coffee. Everyone came to help us in the village, we were even offered six or seven lodgings.
Now we will have to redo everything in the fortified house. “Three or four years” of work, predict the two partners. “We won't be able to redo the slate roof identically, it's a piece of craftsmanship that has been lost”warns Adrien. But he is determined to rebuild the castle of the pondto continue to bring the place to life.
