Semur-en-Auxois Castle

En un regard

Le château en bref

Semur-en-Auxois Castle, listed as a monument historique in 1862 and owned by the commune, dates in its main phase from the 13th century. Built on the narrowest point of the meander of the Armançon, it had a rectangular plan with four round corner towers, in the tradition of so-called Philippian military architecture. The north tower, the keep, some forty metres high, was the most powerful. The site has been fortified since at least the 10th century according to a secondary source, and Semur became the capital of the bailiwick of Auxois in 1276. Jean de Noyers strengthened the castle and town in 1354 on the orders of Philip the Bold, and hoardings were added in 1358. In 1602, Henri IV ordered the dismantling of the ramparts and the castle; the keep, renamed Tour de l'Orle d'Or, was subsequently used as a granary, then as a prison tower or salt storehouse.