The Château d'Oricourt is a castle in the commune of Oricourt in the department of

Haute-Saône Haute-Saône (; Frainc-Comtou: ''Hâte-Saône''; 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 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 ...

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

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

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 (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...

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 law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

to the count of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') 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. ...

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

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

period, the castle came into the ownership of Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, who was immortalised by

Van Eyck Van Eyck or Van Eijk () is a Dutch language, 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 fam ...

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

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

). 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 (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, 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 () 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 collection of buildings, ...

'' on the list of the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

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 Haute-Saône Historic house museums in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Buildings and structures in Haute-Saône Museums in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

See also

External links