Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Chazeuil Castle, built in the 14th century, is an ancient castle today in ruins, located in the western part of the village of Chazeuil, Burgundy-Franche-Comté. The remains remain on a polygonal enclosure once flanked by eight round towers, surrounded by ditches today filled. The entrance was to the west between two towers, and there is only a staircase leading to the courtyards and a partially open tank. The large square tower, 22 meters high, keeps a vaulted cell accessible by a trappon, as well as rooms superior to massive chimneys, today very degraded.

The tower-saule, the most impressive still standing element, is associated with a staircase turret to the west. It had a vaulted cellar, a raised ground floor and two floors, with an oriental facade pierced with nine bays. The castle, mentioned as a fortress on a plateau west of the village, was still equipped with ditches and a drawbridge at the beginning of the 19th century, as described by Abbé Tynturier. The ruins, partially restored in the 20th century, also include a round dovecote of more than 1,200 bolts, recently restored.

The site was listed as historical monuments by order of 16 December 1937. The main buildings, such as the doorway and the house, have disappeared, leaving only their footprints on the ground. Of the eight original towers, only one remained before modern restorations, while another was completely rebuilt. The remains, located on a private property on the south bank of RD 27, offer a partial testimony of the medieval military architecture of the region.

Historical sources, such as Roserot's writings in 1924, evoke a 30 metre dungeon, which is now extinct. The cadastre of 1837 revealed that the tower closed the northeast corner of a rectangular building made up of three houses, with square turrets and delineating a central courtyard. These elements, although partially erased, allow to reconstruct the strategic and residential importance of the castle in medieval times.

External links