Turenne

Turenne crowns a hill above the borders of Limousin, Quercy and Périgord. Its castle was the seat of a viscounty whose privileges gave it an unusual degree of independence within the French kingdom. The viscounts could convene their own estates, and their territory long retained its distinctive rights. In 1738 the indebted Duke of Bouillon sold the viscounty to Louis XV; the castle was subsequently dismantled, ending its role as the centre of a separate lordship.