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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Terrans Castle, located on the former town of Terrans (now integrated with Pierre-de-Bresse in Saône-et-Loire), replaces a castle in the 11th century. In the Middle Ages, the site housed a leprosy and a Benedictine priory. The seigneury was owned by the family of Terrans, including Jean de Terrans, adviser to Duke Philippe le Bon in 1427, before passing to the Chanteret, then to the Truchis by marriage in 1707.

In 1765 Guillaume de Truchis, Count of Serville and lieutenant of the king at Chalon, undertook the reconstruction of the castle with his wife, Françoise Marguerite Guillier de Serigny. The plans were entrusted to the Dijon architect Edme Verniquet, a former student of the Royal Academy. The first stone, laid at the end of May 1765 by their daughter, came from the quarries of the franc-comtoise abbey. The major work was completed in a few months, followed by local artisans.

The castle, rectangular, has a facade adorned with a central forebody with wrought iron balcony and armored pediment. The commons, symmetrical and decorated with statues, frame a court of honor closed by a grid dated 1776. Inside, a vestibule leads to a wrought iron ramp staircase and a lounge decorated with military trophies and allegorical medallions. The arms of the Truchi, representing a golden pine and two lions, overlook the entrance.

Ranked a historical monument in 1977 (façades, roofs, staircase, living room, park and gate), the castle remains privately owned by the Truchis family, which also owns the nearby castles of Varennes and Lays. The singer Zazie descends from this lineage. Although not open to the public, the site preserves archives, including a copper plate attesting to its construction in 1765.

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