Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château des Barres was built in 1777 in Sainpuits, in the department of Yonne. It was profoundly transformed in the early 19th century by Claude-Étienne Chaillou des Barres (1784-1857), son-in-law of the Duke of Cadore and prefect under Napoleon. The latter, assisted by his son-in-law Baron du Havelt, added a wing connecting the tower to the castle and built a funeral chapel with remarkable trompe l'oeil decorations. Chaillou des Barres, founder of the Société des sciences historiques et naturelles de l'Yonne, also marked the domain by his political duties and friendship with Frédéric II of Prussia.

The park, originally designed under the Restoration by Louis-Martin Berthault (1770-1823), was remodeled in 1905 by Achille Duchêne in the spirit of French gardens, evoking Le Nôtre's legacy. It includes a closed vegetable garden, today orchard conservatory and gardening area. The castle, which was listed as a historic monument in 1997, houses an archive of local and national interest, and has been offering hotel activities since 2020.

The facades, roofs, park, vegetable garden, courtyard with half moon, library tower and chapel have been protected since 1997. The estate is visited in summer, by appointment, offering an architectural and landscaped testimony of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

Temporary animation

Visite des jardins de Duchène et du potager

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