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Origin and history

Châteauneuf Castle, built at the beginning of the 13th century by the sires of Durnes, was a medieval castle accompanied by a castral town with more than 200 inhabitants. Protected by a double ditch, this village housed a chapel and up to 27 fires. The whole was destroyed around 1479 during the wars of Burgundy by the troops of Louis XI, then gradually abandoned.

In the 16th century, the last inhabitants left to settle in Echevannes. In 1614, the village was already in ruins, and the castle, considered untenable against the Swedes allies of Louis XIII in 1628, continued to deteriorate. Sold in 1789, the seigneury was never restored. The current remains, consolidated in the 20th century, are limited to the southwest enclosure and to the traces of the ditches.

The site, perched on a rocky advance 170 m above the Loue, still reveals the contours of the tower and the castral village. The modern road bypasses the promontory, passing under the ruins. Today, only the remains of the enclosure and the ditches recall the strategic importance of this castle, symbol of Burgundy conflicts.

The excavations and observations identify two ring ditches and the foundations of the master tower, buried under shovels. The castle itself lined up with this tower. Despite its state, the site offers a rare testimony of medieval castral architecture in Franche-Comté.

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