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Origin and history

The castle of Saint-Rémy, located in the eponymous village of Côte-d-Or (Burgogne-Franche-Comté), was originally an outbuilding of Fontenay Abbey. Built below the village, on the opposite bank of the Brenne and the Burgundy Canal, it is organized around a rectangular platform surrounded by water ditches. Its history is closely linked to that of the abbey, which gradually acquired seigneurial lands and rights in Saint-Rémy from the 13th century, thanks in particular to donations such as those of Hugues IV in 1234 or Aalays de Villaines-les-Prévotes in 1237.

In the 16th century, Father Jacques de Jaucourt, the last regular abbot of Fontenay, undertook major renovations around 1540. He built the house of the abbots, marking the transition to Renaissance architecture, as evidenced by the engraved dates (1543 and 1611) on the hexagonal turret. The castle, which also includes a chapel added by Brother Pierre Serain, preserves defensive elements such as cannons and a drawbridge later replaced by a dormant bridge. The ditches, fed by a canal connected to Burgundy, reinforce its semi-fortified character.

Sold as a national property in 1795 after the Revolution, the castle was transformed into a farm. Its buildings, partially renovated in the 17th and 18th centuries, include barns, a circular dovecote, and a body of Gothic house with arcades. The restoration undertaken at the beginning of the 20th century preserved its facades, roofs, and notable interior elements, such as painted ceilings and Renaissance fireplaces. Since 1971, parts (galerie, chapel, porterie) have been listed as historical monuments.

The architecture of the castle reflects its successive functions: abbey residence, agricultural estate, and symbol of the seigneurial power of Fontenay. Jacques de Jaucourt's weapons, visible in a room above the chapel, recall his role in transforming the site. The Burgundy Canal, later dug, partially alters its environment by removing a medieval bridge that once linked the castle to the village.

Today, the castle of Saint-Rémy illustrates the monastic and aristocratic heritage of Burgundy, while bearing the traces of its adaptation to post-revolutionary agricultural needs. Its partial inscription to historical monuments underscores the value of its Renaissance elements and its spatial organization, typical of abbatial dependencies transformed into seigneurial residences.

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