Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Drée, located in Curbigny in Saône-et-Loire, was built in the 17th and 18th centuries on the site of an old fortified house called La Bazolle. It belongs to the Route des châteaux in southern Burgundy and is distinguished by its rectangular U-shaped plan, octagonal pavilions and its central forebody adorned with columns and a balcony. The façades, the interior woodwork in rococo style and the terraced gardens reflect the architectural influence of the era.

The castle changed owners several times, passing from the hands of the Magdeleine and the Créquis to those of the Lorraines, then to Étienne de Drée, who completed his interior decoration in 1748 and raised the seigneury in Marquisat in 1767. In the 19th century, it was acquired by the Countess of Tournon-Simiane, then by the Croÿ family until 1993. Since 1995, it has been owned by Ghislain Prouvost, who has undertaken extensive restoration work and opened it to the public.

The estate includes remarkable elements such as an octagonal dovecote of the seventeenth century, symbol of seigneurial law, transformed into a prison in the eighteenth century. A stone cooler, used until World War II, kept ice from frozen ponds. The castle was also equipped for hunting, with a kennel and a hen in the moat of the old fortified farm.

Ranked a historic monument since 1959, the castle of Drée combines architectural and historical heritage. Its French-style gardens, white living room decorated with country trophies and dovecote testify to the seigneurial life under the Ancien Régime. Today, there remains a private property accessible to visitors, illustrating the fascist of Burgundy aristocratic residences.

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