Château de Villemenant

En un regard

Le château en bref

Near Guérigny, north of Nevers, the Château de Villemenant is a late medieval fortified residence closely tied to the metallurgical history of the Nivernais. It was built in 1360 by Girard de Carroble, chamberlain to the Duke of Nevers, in an area where water and wood already favoured the establishment of forges. In the eighteenth century, the estate passed into the possession of Pierre Babaud de la Chaussade, master ironworker and major supplier of anchors and metal fittings to the Royal Navy, whose works at Guérigny were among the most important in the kingdom. In 1781, these forges and their dependencies, including Villemenant, were bought by Louis XVI and thus came under the Crown's property, serving the Navy. The château is protected as a monument historique (Mérimée database entry PA00112900).