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Origin and history

The castle of Quemigny-sur-Seine, located in the region of Duesmois in Burgundy, is attested from the thirteenth century as a fief equipped with a small castle fort. Built into the ducal estate in 1300, it retains a square dungeon probably dating from the 13th or 14th century, which would have served as an advanced post at the Ducal castle next to Duesme. Two ancient descriptions (1495 and 1584) evoke a tower surrounded by water with a drawbridge, an old house body, and outbuildings like a barn and stables. These texts reveal a modest medieval building, partially in ruins before subsequent transformations.

In 1743 Louis Bichot Morel de Corberon, chief of accounts at the parliament of Dijon, acquired the estate and began its reconstruction from 1749. The old castle was demolished to give way to a new building adjacent to the dungeon, whose structure was completed in 1750. Although the architect remains anonymous, clues suggest Claude-Louis d'Aviler. Corberon sold the castle in 1757 to Louis de Guénichon, whose property was sequestered during the Revolution after the emigration of his sons. A detailed inventory of 1794 describes precisely the interior layout, largely preserved until the 19th century.

In the 19th century, the Marquise de Montmort, descendant of Pierre Rémond de Montmort (mathematician of the 18th century), inherited the castle by alliance and made modern arrangements there, often to the detriment of the original decorations. The initials ‘VMV After his death in 1870, the castle was sold and then bought in 1880 by Abbé Perny, who transformed the upper floors of the dungeon to house domestics and guests. The monument, classified in 1975, remains a private property not open to the public.

The current architecture blends the rectangular medieval tower, with a roof with a pavilion, with a classic 18th century castle framed by two round towers and perpendicular buildings. The dungeon, flanked by a square staircase turret, has five floors and partially preserved mâchicoulis. A moat remains to the west, vestige of the original fortifications. The remarkable interiors, such as the vaulted lounge or the work room, as well as the wrought iron staircase, are protected as historical monuments.

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