Initial construction XIIIe siècle (≈ 1350)
Strong house built to protect the abbey.
XVIe siècle
Renaissance reconstruction
Renaissance reconstruction XVIe siècle (≈ 1650)
Restoration by Guillaume de Marafin after the Hundred Years War.
15 octobre 1971
Partial classification
Partial classification 15 octobre 1971 (≈ 1971)
Registration for historical monuments (façades, roofs).
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
Facades and roofs (Case C 255): inscription by order of 15 October 1971
Key figures
Guillaume de Marafin - Reconstructor Lord
Rebuilt the castle in the Renaissance.
Théodore de Bèze - Famous host
Often lived at the castle.
Nicolas (oncle de Bèze) - Abbé de Cervon
Elevated Theodore in Catholicism.
Origin and history
The Old Moulin Castle, located in Vielmanay in the Nièvre (Burgundy-Franche-Comté), is an ancient fortified house built in the 13th century to protect Bellary Abbey. Its remains include a northeast tower crowned with mâchicoulis, original gunboats, and moats surrounding a rectangular platform of 35 m by 25 m. The structure, partially ruined during the Hundred Years' War, was rebuilt in the Renaissance by Guillaume de Marafin, incorporating a housing body, a hexagonal tower housing a spiral staircase, and pavilions added in the 17th century.
The seigneury of Vieux-Moulin, dependent on Châteauneuf-Val-de-Bargis, belonged to the lords of Champlemy. The castle regularly welcomed Theodore de Bèze, a Protestant figure raised in Catholicism by his uncle Nicolas, Abbé de Cervon. Its architecture thus combines medieval defensive elements (douves, archères) with Renaissance and classical arrangements, reflecting its evolution over the centuries.
Partially classified as historical monuments since 15 October 1971, the castle retains protected facades and roofs, as well as original vaulted cellars. Its location, in the hollow of a wooded valley near a tributary of the Loire, and its history linked to the local nobility and religious conflicts make it a remarkable testimony of the Nivernais heritage.
