The Château de Cléron is a 14th-century
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in the ''
commune'' of
Cléron, 25 km south of
Besançon, in the
Doubs ''
département'' of France.
History
Before the 12th century, the lords of Cléron succeeded the
lords of Scey to control the crossing of the
River Loue by a wooden bridge on the main « Route du sel » ("salt road") of
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, ...
, the road linking
Besançon to
Salins-les-Bains and assuring the prosperity of the region in the Middle Ages.
[
The castle was built in 1320 on the bank of the Loue by Humbert de Cléron (vassal of the County of Burgundy) on the site of a former Gallo-Roman '' castrum''.
During the Ten Years' War (1634-1644, and part of the Thirty Years' War) led by ]Richelieu
Richelieu (, ; ) may refer to:
People
* Cardinal Richelieu (Armand-Jean du Plessis, 1585–1642), Louis XIII's chief minister
* Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu (1582–1653), French Carthusian bishop and Cardinal
* Louis François Armand ...
(cardinal and prime minister of Louis XIII) to attempt the reconquest of County of Burgundy to Habsburg Spain
Habsburg Spain is a contemporary historiographical term referring to the huge extent of territories (including modern-day Spain, a piece of south-east France, eventually Portugal, and many other lands outside of the Iberian Peninsula) ruled be ...
, the village was devastated, once by Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
mercenaries
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
in the pay of France in 1639, then a second time by the French.
The castle was heavily remodelled in the 18th century while preserving its Middle Ages defences - keep
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') 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 c ...
, machicolation
A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at t ...
s, arrowslits and murder-hole
A murder hole or meurtrière is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders could shoot, throw or pour harmful substances or objects such as rocks, arrows, scalding water, hot sand, quicklime ...
s. It is flanked by a square tower, the Clock Tower, from the 19th century.[
This perfectly restored castle is the private property of the Montrichard family. It has been listed since 1988 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 ...
'' by the French Ministry of Culture.[
]
Tourism
The private gardens are open to visitors during July and August.[Franche-Comté regional Tourism Committee]
CHATEAU DE CLERON
/ref>
Gallery
File:Franche-Comté (avril 2011) 014.JPG
File:Chateau de Cleron 06.jpg
File:Chateau de Cleron 04.jpg
File:Chateau de Cleron 01.jpg
File:Chateau de Cleron 02.jpg
File:Franche-Comté (avril 2011) 009.JPG
File:Chateau de Cleron 10.jpg
File:Chateau de Cleron 03.jpg
File:Chateau de Cleron 08.jpg
File:Chateau de Cleron 09.jpg
See also
* List of castles in France
* List of châteaux in Franche-Comté
This is the list of châteaux, which are located in Franche-Comté.
Doubs
* Château des Archevêques, in Etalans
* Château de Belvoir, in Belvoir
* Citadelle de Besançon, in Besançon
* Château de Bournel, in Cubry
* Château de Ch ...
* List of counts of Burgundy
This is a list of the counts of Burgundy, i.e., of the region known as Franche-Comté, not to be confused with the Duchy of Burgundy, from 982 to 1678.
House of Ivrea (982–1190)
House of Hohenstaufen (1190–1231)
House of Andechs (1 ...
References
External links
*
Castles in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Monuments historiques of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
County of Burgundy
Châteaux in Doubs
{{France-castle-stub