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Origin and history

The Château de Courcelles-lès-Semur came into being in the 13th century, first mentioned in 1317 during the marriage of Guillotte, daughter of Jean, lord of Courcelles, evoking a strong house. In 1333, the Duke of Burgundy acquired the estate by exchange for the castle of Authumes. The site, strategic, suffered the tumults of the era: threatened in 1361 by the large companies (running armed bands), then in 1439 by the scavengers, requiring repairs and negotiations for its security. In 1367, a local tax financed its restoration, illustrating its importance for the seigneury and the duchy.

In the 15th century, the castle became a beautiful seigneurial castle according to the archives of 1468, with thirty chimney rooms, water ditches and partially collapsed walls. The Duke of Burgundy gave him in 1374 to Guy and Guillaume de la Trimouille as a reward for their services. In 1586, Jean de Tavannes, Viscount, was arrested there, marking a troubled episode of his history. The Revolution reveals a quadrilateral structure with defensive towers, drawbridge and murderous, reflecting its evolution between noble residence and fortress.

The current architecture combines medieval elements (XIIIth-15th centuries) and redevelopments of the 17th-15th centuries. The main house body, flanked by square towers and moat, surrounds a central courtyard. A high tower, now open, dominates the whole, while agricultural buildings, added late, testify to its conversion into a farm until 1997. Ranked Historic Monument in 1999 for its remains (castle, ground, moat), the site retains traces of its successive functions: defence, prestige and rural exploitation.

The castle gained cultural fame in 1961 when Bernard Borderie shot scenes from the Trois Mousquetaires, with Mylène Demongeot and Georges Descrières. This cinematic enhancement highlights its preserved setting, between circular terrace and Lesois landscape. The historical sources, although partial (missing references for certain events), underline its role in local history, from the lords of Courcelles to the Dukes of Burgundy, and its adaptation to modern agricultural needs.

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