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Origin and history

The castle of Vandenesse is an old 14th century fortress, renovated in the 15th and 17th centuries, located in the Dragne valley, on the banks of the Aron. Unlike other local forts, it was built in the bottom of the valley, protected by water ditches. Originally, it belonged to the Bocars family, then by successive alliances to the families of Nourry, Roger-de-Beaufort, and Chabannes, who transformed it into a powerful circular castle in the 15th century.

In 1570, during the Wars of Religion, the troops of Admiral Coligny damaged the castle and burned the nearby church. In the 17th century, the seigneury was erected as a marquisat by Louis XIV, and the medieval courtesies were replaced by bodies of houses pierced with high windows. The French Revolution led to the seizure of the castle as a national good, and part of it was demolished in 1796. In the 19th century, it belonged to the Talleyrand-Périgord families and then to Mérod, before moving to the Roche-Aymon family in 1909.

Architecturally, the castle combined a 14th-century square dungeon, seven 15th-century oval towers connected by courtines, and 17th-century lodges. Today, it preserves two oval towers, a square tower, the mâchicoulis dungeon, and houses. The moat and the drawbridge disappeared, as did the north-west part destroyed at the Revolution. The interior houses two monumental fireplaces from the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as a 17th century tapestry.

The castle, which was listed as a historical monument in 1998, is visible from the outside but does not visit. Its history reflects the architectural changes and property changes associated with marriage alliances and political upheavals, from medieval wars to the Revolution.

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