Château de Pouilly en Saône-et-Loire

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Key figures

Origin and history

Pouilly Castle is a late 15th century mansion located in the municipality of Solutré-Pouilly in Saône-et-Loire. Located on a slope side in the middle of the vineyards, it dominates the village and offers a view of a vast landscape. Its architecture combines a square central pavilion under a broken roof, two low wings, and three circular towers, including a half-outside staircase. The gunboats and brace consoles recall its defensive role, while the crumb windows and the modillon cornices bear witness to a Renaissance influence.

Access is through a cochère door in basket cove and a pedestrian door in the middle of the hangar, up in the 19th century. The apparatus alternates large and small bellows, typical of late medieval constructions. Although classified as private property and not open to the public, the castle illustrates the evolution of seigneurial residences between the Middle Ages and modern times, mixing military and residential functions.

The first mentions of the name Pouilly date back to the 10th century in the texts, but the present castle seems to date from the end of the 15th century. His documented history began in 1673 with Jean de Macet, lord of Davayé, Pouilly and Solutré, the first certified owner. The seigneury then passed into the hands of Mâcon's bourgeois and medical families, such as the Pollet (1679–169) and the Chanorier, reflecting the social changes of the Ancien Régime.

In 1679, the widow Philippe de Testenoire, wife of Antoine Pollet, took over the fief, followed by a doctor Antoine Pollet in 1696, and then his son was the same in 1728. In 1769 Jeanne-Marie-Philippe Pollet, widow of Hugues-Eustache Chanorier, became the last known owner before the Revolution. These successive transmissions underline the role of the castle as a symbol of local power and social status.

Today, Pouilly Castle remains a major architectural testimony of Saône-et-Loire, marked by its landscaped integration into vineyards and its history linked to regional elites. Its state of conservation and hybrid style make it a representative example of Burgundy manors of the medieval-Renaissance transition.

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