The Château de Chevreaux is a ruined
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
in the ''
commune'' of
Chevreaux in the
Jura ''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
'' of France. At an altitude of 473 m, the castle dominates the
Bresse plain.
History
In 974, Manassès III,
Lord of Coligny, gave his lands of "Chevrel" and "Chastel" to the monks of the Abbey of
Gigny-sur-Suran. The castle was mentioned for the first time in 1158 in a document by the monks of the
Abbaye du Miroir. It was the seat of a ''
seigneurie
In English law, seignory or seigniory, spelled ''signiory'' in Early Modern English (; ; ), is the lordship (authority) remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple.
'' Nulle terre sans seigneur'' ("No land without a lord") ...
'' that belonged successively to three families: Coligny (from its construction until 1332), Vienne (from 1332 to 1651), and then Damas.
A document from 1628 reported, "The castle and fortified house of Chevreaux, well served with towers and a good defensive curtain wall, where there are twelve rooms with fires, a chapel, a kitchen, wine store, and five or six barns and good vaulted cellars, along with stables, ovens, bakery and beautiful gardens."
[« Le château et maison forte de Chevreaux, bien revêtu de tours et muraille en bonne défense, où il y a douze chambres à feu, une chapelle, cuisine, sommellerie, et cinq ou six greniers et belles caves voutées, ensemble des écuries, fours, chambre de boulangerie et beau jardinage. »]
On 2 April 1637, during the
Ten Years' War
The Ten Years' War (; 1868–1878), also known as the Great War () and the War of '68, was part of Cuba's fight for independence from Spain. The uprising was led by Cuban-born planters and other wealthy natives. On 10 October 1868, sugar mil ...
in
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...
, the Duke of Longueville besieged the castle, which he captured, pillaged and destroyed. The
keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...
which had resisted his cannons was undermined and the fortifications were demolished.
Since 1990, the castle has benefited from restoration works. It is open to the public all year.
See also
*
List of castles in France
This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Regions of France, region and Departments of France, department.
;Notes:
# The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are p ...
References
External links
Association "Les amis de Chevreaux Châtel" The Association to protect and repair architectural heritage. It organises courses for volunteer workers and youth.
Château de Chevreaux Official website
Ruined castles in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Jura (department)
{{France-castle-stub