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Origin and history

The Château d'Etrabonne, located in the Doubs department, came into being in the 11th or 12th century, when Narduin d'Estrabonne, son of Amaury I of Joux, erected a first wooden structure around 1084. Reconstructed in stone at the beginning of the 13th century by Eudes d'Estrabonne, it then included a chapel dedicated to the three Magi kings (1140), a large hall, and reinforced walls. The fief was historically under the control of the seigneury of Autrey and remained in the hands of the d'Estrabonne family until 1471, when John VI, the last heir, died without descendants. His estates, including the castle, were divided between his half sisters, including Catherine d'Estrabonne, married to Jacques I of Aumont since 1456.

Over the centuries, the castle underwent many transformations and destructions. In 1355 the lords of Estrabonne freed the inhabitants from the dead hand, and in 1363 the castle was set on fire. Transformed after the ravages of the Grandes Compagnies by Guillaume III d'Estrabonne, chamberlain of Duke Philip the Good (who created the bailiwick of Étrabonne in 1436), he was dismantled in 1477 by order of Louis XI. Converted to a farm in 1570, he was looted during the Ten Years' War, and his first enclosure served as a career to rebuild the village. Fired in 1673, he changed hands several times: sold in 1723 to Jean Pourcheresse, master of forges, and in 1782 to the Prince of Saint-Mauris-Montbarey. During the Revolution, the tower of the poterne was destroyed (1794), but the castle, sold as a national good, escaped total destruction.

Today, the castle retains prominent feudal elements, such as a large hall, a chapel, and the remains of three towers, including a circular dungeon. Its body of "U"-shaped houses, dating from the 15th century, bears witness to its medieval past. Ranked a historic monument in 1968 and a site registered since 1942, it also houses a restored bailiff house, located 150 metres south. During World War II, the Germans installed a kommandantur. In 1956 Paul Baillart, an ophthalmologist, became his owner after saving the sight of sculptor Albert Pasche, who offered him the castle in recognition.

Another castle with the same name exists in Champagne-sur-Vingeanne (Côte-d'Or), dating from the 15th century. This mansion, owned by a younger branch of the lords of Étrabonne, constituted a franc-comtoise enclave in the kingdom of France, dependent on the seigneury of Autrey (Haute-Saône).

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