Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Bouzot has its origins in the 13th century, built on a prehistoric site in the Oze valley, near the same hamlet. Originally owned by the local lords, it was sold in 1331 by Étienne de Mont-Saint-Jean to Duke Eudes IV of Burgundy for 17,000 pounds, thus integrating the ducal domain. The site, strategically located 500 metres south of the village of Boux-sous-Salmaise, combines defensive elements (square towers) and a baroque tower probably added in the seventeenth century, reflecting its architectural evolution.

In the 16th century, the castle changed hands several times among the Burgundy nobility. In 1567, Antoine d'Orge was the lord, followed in 1587 by Claude Valon de Barain, king's secretary and comptroller in the parliament of Burgundy. The estate then passed by alliance to the Venot family: Pierre Venot, chief of accounts, married Anne in 1617, daughter of Claude Valon, becoming seigneur of Bouzot. Their descendant Charles Venot inherited the title in 1672, before the estate was held in 1739 by Jean Desomes-Duplessy. After 1763, the archives became rare, leaving its later history partially unknown.

The architecture of the castle combines a rectangular body flanked by pavilions and utility elements such as a square porch dovecote, typical of the seigneurial houses of the period. Only the facades and roofs of the old entrance pavilion, including the gate, have been protected as historic monuments since 1970, highlighting their heritage value. The localization in the enclosed valley, near a slope, reinforces its defensive character of origin, despite subsequent transformations.

External links