The Château d'Oricourt is a castle in the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

of Oricourt in the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Haute-Saône Haute-Saône (; Arpitan: ''Hiôta-Sona''; English: Upper Saône) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of northeastern France. Named after the river Saône, it had a population of 235,313 in 2019.Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

region of France. The original castle on the site was a

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

built in wood. The present castle was built during the 12th century on the edge of a plateau, facing the Lure plain, the Château d'Oricourt is a double-walled castle. The outer wall enclosed the farm and the inner wall the residential courtyard. In the latter are a collection of buildings from the 12th and 15th centuries, including the well, a cistern, bakery, cellars and a grand dining room. Two square towers, 25m (~81 ft) high, dominate the curtain walls and deep ditches. Outside, on the village side, an imposing pigeon loft has been built. The original owners, the Gaucher family, added "d'Oricourt" to their name. Gaucher d’Oricourt was

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

to the count of

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

was the lord of Oricourt around 1170. Around 1250, the Vaire family occupied the castle. In 1435, during the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

period, the castle came into the ownership of

Nicolas Rolin Nicolas Rolin (1376–1462) was a leading figure in the history of Burgundy and France, becoming chancellor to Philip the Good (Philip III, Duke of Burgundy). Born into a bourgeois family in Autun, Rolin's first marriage in 1398 was part of a t ...

, chancellor of Burgundy, who was immortalised by

Van Eyck Van Eyck or Van Eijk () is a Dutch toponymic surname. ''Eijck'', ''Eyck'', ''Eyk'' and ''Eijk'' are all archaic spellings of modern Dutch ("oak") and the surname literally translates as "from/of oak". However, in most cases, the family name refers ...

in the painting '' The Virgin with Chancellor Rolin'' (Paris,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

). His son, Guillaume Rolin, took possession in 1462; it was probably Guillaume who had the tasteful residence built against the north curtain. One of the windows is decorated with a mask of Nicolas Rolin. On Guillaume's death, the castle passed to his nephew, Antoine d’Oiselay. The barons of Oiselay kept Oricourt until the middle of the 17th century, but did not live there. After the Ten Years' War, Franche-Comté was devastated. The manor of Oricourt was put up for sale and taken by Claude François de Cordemoy in 1650. He lived here for 50 years. The last lord of Oricourt was the husband of Jeanne Claude de Cordemoy, François Gabriel, marquis of Chapuis After the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, the town of Oricourt made an unsuccessful appeal to the authorities to demolish the fortifications and fill in the ditches, symbols of feudalism. In the 19th century the castle and its land were taken over by the Grivel family, turning it into a simple farm. The grandparents of the present owner, Jean Pierre Cornevaux, acquired the property in 1932. Parts of the castle were protected as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' on the list of the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...

since 1913, and in its entirety since 1984. The castle is open to the public.

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oricourt, chateau d' Castles in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Monuments historiques of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Historic house museums in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Museums in Haute-Saône

See also

External links