Château de Pagny-le-Château

En un regard

Le château en bref

The fortified castle of Notre-Dame, known as the castle of the lords of Pagny, at Pagny-le-Château (Côte-d'Or), was first a ducal pleasure residence in the 10th century before the Vienne family, who had held lands in the seigneury since the 12th century, built towers and thick walls there. The fortress is protected by deep moats fed by a canal diverted from the Saône, a covered gateway and a drawbridge with a portcullis. In 1526, Admiral Philippe Chabot acquired the estate through marriage and had the north wing rebuilt around 1530 as a classical three-storey residence with decorative pavilions and marble staircases. The estate then passed to the houses of Lorraine (1597), Bourbon (1675) and La Valière (1739). Sacked during the Fronde (1653) and accidentally burned at the end of the 16th century, it was demolished on the orders of the Duke of La Valière in 1774, its materials being reused for neighbouring farms. Only the chapel survives, founded in 1297 and rebuilt in the early 16th century: built on a Latin-cross plan with side chapels, in brick and stone, it has rib vaults, carved Renaissance decoration and a hexagonal stair turret. Listed as a Monument historique in 1919, it now serves as a guest house.