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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The castle of Couches, known as Marguerite de Bourgogne, is a medieval fortress built in the 11th century by the lords of Couches, whose construction Gaudry began. Located in Saône-et-Loire, it controlled a strategic axis between Paris and Chalon-sur-Saône via Autun. In the 12th century, the fief passed through marriage to Hugues de La Roche-Nolay, then was enlarged by his great-grandson in the 13th century. The flamboyant Gothic chapel (1460) and the round towers of the 13th century testify to its architectural evolution, while a corps of 19th century neo-Gothic houses added to it after its restoration by Count Odet-Louis-Joseph de Montagu in 1844.

The fortress, dismantled in the 17th century after conflicts like the looting of 1590 by Antoine du Prat, frequently changed hands: from Montaigu to Rochechouart, then to Fuligny-Damas. A local legend, unwrapped, associates the castle with Marguerite de Bourgogne, the repudiated wife of Louis X, supposedly dead in 1333 on site rather than in prison in 1315. Ranked as a historical monument in 2009, the site now houses a wine estate (AOC Burgundy Côte-du-Couchois) and art collections in its restored chapel.

In the 19th century, the castle, then in ruins, was bought and transformed into a troubadour style by the Count of Montagu. In 1946, the Cayot family began the restoration of the dungeon and chapel, before the Poelaert couple launched a comprehensive renovation programme in 2009. The site, integrated with the Route des châteaux en Bourgogne du Sud, also attracts by its link to popular culture: the a-ha group's Cry Wolf clip was shot there in 1986.

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