En un regard
Le château en bref
The ducal castle of Villaines-en-Duesmois, known as the Vieux Château (Old Castle), ranks among the principal ducal castles of northern Burgundy, alongside those of Châtillon-sur-Seine and Duesme. A charter of 1002 from the Abbey of Flavigny mentions a primitive castle motte located 1,500 metres south of the present remains. Hugh IV of Burgundy acquired the lordship in 1253. Philip the Bold (1342–1404) and Margaret of Flanders (1350–1405) strengthened the fortress to withstand bands of mercenaries; Louis XI and then the Princes of Condé subsequently resided there. Some gunports date from the late 16th century. A royal order had the castle dismantled in 1710 to turn it into a stone quarry. Four of the seven original 13th-century circular towers survive, outlining a quadrilateral roughly 50 metres per side; the moats were restored in 2009. Since the 1980s, a local cultural centre has ensured the conservation of the site and organises exhibitions there, devoted in particular to regional geology.