Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Sauvement Castle, originally built in the 13th century as a stronghold of Charolais County, was the center of one of the six medieval chestnuts. Located on the slope side of the town of Ciry-le-Noble (Saône-et-Loire), it symbolized the local seigneurial power. His first role was military, before moving towards a residential function after his partial destruction in the 15th century on the order of Louis XI.

In the 16th century, the secretary of François I, Palamède Gonthier, rebuilt the house on the remains of the primitive castle, giving it its name as Château Gonthier. This reshaping marks the transition to Renaissance architecture, with an interior courtyard framed by houses and a tower with a drawbridge. Today, only defensive elements such as scallops, a square tower, and partially filled ditches remain.

The castle changed hands several times by inheritance and sales: Burgundy families such as the Gagne de Perrigny (17th century), the Beaudéan de Parabère (18th century), and the Quarré de Champvigy and Sauvage du Sauvement at the Revolution. In the 19th century, it passed to the Regnauld of Bellescize, before being passed on to the salmon of Loiray and Arminjon, current owners. These successions reflect the social history of the local nobility, between matrimonial alliances and heritage strategies.

Partially listed as historical monuments in 1991 (porch tower, staircase tower and dungeon), the castle illustrates the evolution of medieval fortresses into aristocratic residences. Although private and not open to the public, its architecture still blends medieval traces (archeries, slope) and Renaissance elegance (bintel bedding in brace, torso arrow). The disappearance of a circular tower in the 19th century and the closing of the ditches testify to subsequent changes.

The heraldic family owners — Gagne de Perrigny, Beaudéan de Parabère, Regnauld de Bellescize — recall their anchor in Burgundy history. These blasmons, preserved in the archives, underline the role of the castle as a marker of noble lines, from the Old Regime to the contemporary era.

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