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Origin and history

The castle of Semur-en-Brionnais, located in Saône-et-Loire on a rocky spur, is one of the oldest castles in Burgundy. Founded in the 10th century with dungeon foundations, it is mainly redesigned between the 11th and 15th centuries. Today there is only a poterne modified in the 18th century and a high rectangular tower of 22 meters, with thick walls of two meters at the base. The lower levels, in average apparatus with fish edge seats, contrast with the upper floors in small apparatus. The architectural evolution of the building is reflected in the wooded windows, a fireplace and tower substructures. The site, entrusted in 879 to the bishop of Autun by Boson de Provence, became a powerful barony under the house of Semur.

The Semur family, from Freelan de Chamelet († 925), dominated the area for nearly four centuries. Joceran de Chamelet († 994) built a dungeon there, and his descendant Geoffroy II (1025–90) saw his brother, Saint Hugues, sixth abbot of Cluny, born in the castle. The baronnie then passed into the hands of the houses of Châteauvillain (from 1262), d-Albon-Beaujeu (1320), then of the Bourbon and La Tremeille. In the 15th century, the Duke of Burgundy installed captains there to maintain the dungeon and artillery, before the site was partially abandoned. In the 18th century, Jacques-Nicolas du Puy added judicial buildings, such as the audience of the bailliage.

Ranked a historic monument in 1971, the castle is now communal property. Its ruins, including two round archery towers and a rectangular tower with closed openings, are visited. Attempts to destroy in the 19th century have left traces, but restoration work carried out since 1968 by the team of J.-L. Dosso-Greggia has enabled its development. The site remains a major testimony of Burgundian medieval military architecture, linked to religious history with the figure of Saint Hugues.

The coats of arms of successive lords, such as those of the Châteauvillain (silver and sand gironed) or the Albon (gold on sand) remind the dynastic alliances that marked its history. The castle, open to the public, offers a panorama of the valley and preserves defensive elements such as mâchicoulis and a cistern. Its role as a prison for bailiwick, created in 1560, illustrates its administrative importance until the Revolution.

Historical sources, including the work of F. Cucherat (1887) and J. Richard (1963), point to its anchoring in the Brionnais and its link with Burgundy feudal networks. The Merimée database and the local archives complete this data, confirming its inscription as an emblematic monument of Saône-et-Loire and Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

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