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Origin and history

The Maulevrier Castle, located in Melay in Saône-et-Loire, has its origins in the 11th century, when the land belonged to the abbey of Saint-Rigaud. In the 14th century, the family of Lespinasse erected a hunting rendezvous, later transformed into a strong house. This estate passed in 1502 to John of Damascus, by marriage, before being destroyed in 1562 after the assassination of his son, Philip of Damascus. The reconstruction was undertaken in the second half of the 16th century by Philippe's sister, wife of Denys de Savary, and then completed by their heir, Marguerite de Savary, as evidenced by a marble plaque still visible.

In 1625, the seigneury was erected as a marquisate for François de Savary, the ambassador of Henry IV at Constantinople, but his line was extinguished in 1643, when the fief was sold to Hector Andrault de Langeron. The Andrault de Langeron family conserves the castle until the 18th century, during which time arrangements, such as a ballroom, are made. The French Revolution marked a turning point: the towers were razed, a part of the right wing housing the chapel was destroyed, but the family managed to preserve its property.

In the 19th century, the estate came into the hands of Vogüé, notably Melchior de Vogüé, an academician and heir to the Marquisate. The castle, built in brick and organized in a U-shaped plan, retains defensive elements such as ditches and a dormant bridge. Its architecture blends medieval remains and transformations of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with facades decorated with pilasters and pediments. Today, there remains a testimony of the architectural and social evolution of the Burgundy nobility, partially protected since 1991.

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