Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château de Fontaine-Française, located in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, finds its origins in the 13th century as a typical medieval fortress, with crenellated enclosure, dungeon and towering. Owned by Vergy's family, it was probably built after William I's marriage to Clémence de Fouvent. An outside chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame, founded in 1297, completed the whole, although its exact location and appearance remain unknown.

In the 16th century, Cardinal Claude de Longwy, Duke and peer of France, modernized the castle in a Renaissance style. He raised the buildings, added wings in return, and covered the roofs with glazed tiles in bright colours (green, yellow, red, black). An interior chapel, described as a "jewel", replaced the old, while Francis I stayed there twice (1534, 1535). The kitchens and offices, separated from the places of life, testify to the seigneurial organization of the time.

The major transformation took place between 1754 and 1758, when François Bollioud de Saint-Jullien, receiver general of the clergy and adviser to Louis XV, entrusted the architect Souhard with the reconstruction of the castle in a classical style. For 338 000 pounds, the old castle was transformed into a symmetrical home, with a central house body flanked by wings, a clock dome, and French gardens decorated with 372 cut linden trees. Madame de Saint-Jullien received there figures of the Enlightenment like Voltaire, with whom she maintained a diligent correspondence.

The park, classified as a remarkable garden in 2015, mixes geometric paths, statues (Flore, Apollo, Henri IV) and a bust of Louis XVIII celebrated as "Saviour and Father". The castle, which remained privately owned, also housed works by the Dijon Museum during the Second World War (1943-1944). His story crossed that of Monaco via Honorine-Camille-Athenaïs Grimaldi, a princess who became a chestnut by marriage in 1804.

Ranked a historic monument since 1945, the castle preserves traces of its medieval past (walls, tower-masters) and Renaissance (painted tiles), while embodying the architectural ideal of the eighteenth century. Its interiors, such as the room Voltaire or the gallery on the first floor, reflect the fascination of the literary salons of the time. The park, registered and classified between 1993 and 2023, continues this exceptional landscape heritage.

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