The Château de Lugny is a
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
Lugny in the
Saône-et-Loire
Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part.
Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...
''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...
'' of France.
Description
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, the Château de Lugny, flanked by several towers and equipped with an "extremely high and very beautiful"
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 ...
, was surrounded by ditches filled with water from the source of the
Bourbonne River - known as the ''"source des eaux bleues"'' (blue waters) - which rises at the foot of the castle hill. However, of the imposing castle of the lords of Lugny, burnt down during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, there remains today only two round three-storey towers, traditionally dated from the 14th century, and part of the common buildings corresponding essentially to those of the old lower courtyard of the manorial residence and forming a quadrilateral.
To each of the two gate towers a narrow building is joined. These, built perpendicularly one with the other, are covered by high tiled roofs. The building adjoining the north-east tower is a circular turret whose roof is pierced by an attic window dominating the angle between the building and the tower.
Having passed the two gate towers - which originally flanked a gateway with a
drawbridge
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...
- one discovers on the left three openings to partially walled arcades which were once the former ''conciergerie''.
On the right can be seen two elegant bays and their profiled semicircular arches and the entry to the old castle stables - traditionally dated from the 16th century.
The building in which the lords of Lugny resided was built formerly on the flat land between the present church and the castle hill. Set on fire in July 1789, it almost entirely disappeared and all that remains of this construction is the base of a circular tower and, a few metres away, a small portion of the old wall.
The ''château'' is private property and not open to the public.
History
File:Blason ville fr Lugny (Saône-et-Loire)2.svg,
File:Blason fam fr Chabot2.svg,
File:Blason famille Saulx-Tavannes.svg,
File:Blason famille Labaume-Montrevel.svg,
''House of Lugny''
*Lugny in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
was the cradle of a house of
chivalry
Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours we ...
– the House of Lugny – whose motto was : « N’est oyseau de bon nid qui n’a plume de Lugny ». This family died out in the middle of the 16th century with
Jean de Lugny and the estate therefore passed successively, through the hands of three families.
''House of Chabot''
*1558 : Françoise de Lugny, lady of Lugny, daughter and heir of Jean de Lugny married François Chabot
''House of Saulx''
*1579 : Catherine Chabot, lady of Lugny, daughter and heir of the preceding, married Jean de Saulx, Viscount de Tavannes and Viscount de Lugny
*Start of 17th century : Charles de Saulx became Marquis de Lugny
''House of La Baume''
*1647 : Claire-Françoise de Saulx, daughter and heir of the preceding, married Charles-François de La Baume, Count of Montrevel, whose family kept the estate until the end of the ''
Ancien Régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for "ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
''
*End of the 17th century : Jacques-Marie de La Baume became Baron de Lugny
*Start of 18th century : Melchior-Esprit de La Baume, son of the preceding, became Baron de Lugny
*1740 : Florent-Alexandre-Melchior de La Baume (born 1736), Count of Montrevel, son of the preceding, becomes the last lord of Lugny; he was put to death in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1794.
''
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
''
*1789, the Château de Lugny, in the 18th century used as a simple hunting lodge by the counts of Montrevel, was the first in the
Mâconnais
The Mâconnais district is located in the south of the Burgundy wine region in France, west of the Saône river. It takes its name from the town of Mâcon. It is best known as a source of good value white wines made from the Chardonnay grape; the ...
to be burned by the «''Brigands''» – rebelling peasants – when the troubles of
The Terror, at the end of July, stirred up this region (night of Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 July 1789). Dubost, curate of the neighbouring parish of
Bissy-la-Mâconnaise wrote ''« La flamme était si grande entre une et deux heures de la nuit que j’aurais pu lire à ma fenêtre à la lueur du feu. »''
''More recent''
*Having lost their agricultural function after the disasters at the time of the French revolution, the buildings which resisted the fire were used initially for cotton-spinning (first half of the 19th century), and thereafter as successively the gendarmerie and, around 1910, the presbytery (which remained there until the middle of the 1980s).
See also
*
List of castles in France
This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Region and Department.
;Notes:
# The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are properly called palaces, mansions or vine ...
Bibliography
*Lex, Léonce : ''Notice historique sur Lugny et ses hameaux'', Belhomme Libraire Editeur, Mâcon, 1892.
*Lafarge, Frédéric and Berthaud, Paulette : ''Lugny, mémoire de pierres, mémoire d'hommes'', Bibliothèque municipale de Lugny, Lugny, 2006 (I.S.B.N. : 2-9514028-1-3).
*Vignier, Françoise (''ed'') : ''Le Guide des Châteaux de France, 71 Saône-et-Loire'', Editions Hermé, Paris, 1985.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lugny, Chateau De
Castles in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Saône-et-Loire