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Origin and history

The Old Château de Champlecy is an ancient fortified house built on the town of Champlecy, in the Charolais (Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). Originally destroyed twice by the leaguers, it was rebuilt at the beginning of the seventeenth century by Jean-François de Champlecy, advisor to Louis XIII and knight of the Order of Saint-Michel. The site preserves a body of rectangular houses flanked by a square staircase tower, decorated with family arms and braces.

In 1520 Boyer's family settled on these lands. In 1558 Jean de Boyer, lord of Champlecy, became lieutenant general at the bailiwick of Mâcon. His descendant, Jean-François (or John III), obtained in 1602 Henry IV the right to substitute the name Champlecy for Boyer. The present castle, built near the ruins of the first, then passed to his son in 1645, then to his niece Anne-Charlotte, Baroness of Sainte-Croix, successive wife of Jean-Éléonor de Damascus and Charles de Batz de Castelmore d-Artagnan — the latter serving as a model for the hero of Alexander Dumas.

Over the centuries, the estate changed its hands: sold in 1709 by Louis II de Batz (son of d) Artagnan to the Sercey family of Daunoy, it fell by alliance to the Dukes of Cossé-Brissac. Confiscated as a national good during the Revolution, it was transformed into an agricultural home in the 19th and 20th centuries. Private owners eventually restored it, preserving its architectural elements such as the sill windows, the carved shields and the renovated door in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The castle is characterized by its unique floor illuminated with large bays, its ground floor modified, and a defensive ramp carrying the arms of Jean de Champlecy. The inscriptions and mural coats of arms recall the noble alliances that marked its history, between Catholic leagues, royalty and literary heritage.

Today, the Old Castle of Champlecy embodies both a military heritage (strong house with towers) and residential, reflecting the social transformations of Burgundy-Franche-Comté, from the wars of Religion to the Revolution.

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