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Origin and history

Pierrefitte Castle is a bourgeois building built in the 19th century on the town of Poil, in the Nièvre department. Although a fief was attested as early as 1510 under the name Petra ficta ("raised stone"), no castle or mansion was mentioned before the 19th century. The site, occupied for at least the sixteenth century, first hosts a medieval style hunting lodge between 1800 and 1850, followed by a house corps in the second half of the century.

The present castle is the result of a reconstruction in 1912, after a devastating fire in the same year. The parish registers then describe the home as a "large Swiss chalet", highlighting its eclectic appearance before its destruction. Today, the building includes a basement, two square floors, an additional floor and attic, surrounded by a pond and outbuildings.

The name Pierrefitte, from the Latin Petra ficta, evokes an ancient occupation of the site, although the first architectural traces date only from the 19th century. The castle thus illustrates the evolution of aristocratic residences in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, passing from hunting pavilions to bourgeois houses rebuilt after sinisters.

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