Château d'Arnay-le-Duc (Manoir de Juilly, Castle of the Princes of Condé)

En un regard

Le château en bref

Mentioned as early as 1590 as the 'house of the Sieur de Juilly', occupied by Captain de la Gaillardbois for defensive purposes, the manor became in 1634 the property of the Prince of Condé, who bought the seigneury of Arnay and obtained the building by decree of the Parlement of Paris; a great lover of hunting, he restored and embellished the residence, calling on distinguished artists. The Renaissance building, rectangular in plan and flanked by corner towers — including a large round tower to the north-west and a hexagonal stair tower on the east façade — retains ornate doors, mullioned windows, four large carved fireplaces and painted floors. In 1772, a cotton mill there employed the town's poor inhabitants; the circular tower later served as the town hall, and a file factory was set up there in the 19th century. Registered as a historic monument in 1926, the building, today a municipal vocational training centre, can be viewed from the outside.