Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Montjeu, located in Broye in Saône-et-Loire, was built at the beginning of the seventeenth century by Pierre Jeannin, President of the Parliament of Dijon and Counsellor of Henri IV. The latter, responding to criticisms about the isolation of the site, said: "I will always be far enough from the wicked, and my friends will be able to find me." The estate, lined with walls and equipped with ponds feeding Autun, blends defensive elements (folders, cannons) and aesthetics, with a housing body framed by pavilions and a chapel decorated with woodwork.

In 1623 Pierre de Castille, Jeannin's son-in-law, completed the large stairs of the park and decorated the chapel. The baronnie, raised in marquisat in 1665, saw Nicolas Jeannin de Castille build the communes and develop the French gardens. The castle was a meeting place for the aristocracy, as evidenced by the visit of Françoise de Rabutin-Chantal (aunt of Madame de Sévigné) in 1656. A fire in 1735 damaged the central body, before the widow of the president of Aligre modernized the accesses by removing drawbridges and wall of enclosure.

In the 18th century, the estate passed to Louis-Michel Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau, then to the Talleyrands in the 19th century. In 1893 the Princess of Ligne became its owner. In 1939 Roger Louis Demon, an industrialist, acquired the castle in ruins and undertook a massive restoration: reconstruction of the walls of the park (7 km), gardens (plans of Le Nôtre), the vegetable garden, and modernization of the farms. During the Second World War, he hid a Jewish family there, earning him the title "Just among the Nations".

A fire in 1963 ravaged the central house again, repaired by Dr. Willy Manchot. In the 1980s Jimmy Goldsmith, a Franco-British billionaire, bought the estate and led a spectacular restoration of the gardens and commons. Today, this enclosed park of 704 hectares – one of the largest in Europe – remains a private property, closed to the public.

The castle combines architectural heritage (classified in 1958) and historical, having welcomed figures such as Voltaire (witness of a marriage in 1734) or members of the European nobility. Its outbuildings, including a dovecote and ponds feeding Autun, reflect its economic and social role since the 17th century.

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