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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Vregille Castle, located in the Haute-Saône department in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, is an 18th-century building built for the Courlet de Vregille family, a line of parliamentarians from Haut-Doubs. Acquised in 1700, the seigneury of Vregille saw its present castle erected between 1713 and 1730, replacing an old castle in ruins since 1663, of which only one tower remains incorporated into the park. This new house, of rectangular plan, was enlarged between 1765 and 1783, then modified in the 19th century with the addition of a library wing and the development of the park with English.

The estate preserves older remains, such as a 16th-century chapel (formerly a dovecote), a 16th-century seigneurial building called Le Régale, and a square tower dating back to 1500. The castle, listed as a historical monument in 2001 and in 2017, also includes stables, an orangery and communes. Its interior houses rooms decorated from the 18th and 19th centuries, reflecting architectural evolutions and aristocratic uses of the period.

The family Courlet de Vregille, the castle's sponsor, illustrates the social ascent of parliamentarians under the Old Regime. Their residence, transformed and enlarged over the centuries, becomes a local symbol of seigneurial power and then a preserved heritage. The modifications of the 19th century, such as the chapel or the expansion of the park, mark an adaptation to romantic tastes, while integrating medieval and reborn elements still visible today.

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