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Origin and history

The Château de La Motte-Saint-Jean was originally a medieval fortress mentioned in the 10th century in the Annales de Flodoard. In 924, Rodolphe de Bourgogne took control, then held by a certain Regnier. Over the centuries he became a strategic fiefef for the local lords, especially the families of Chalon, Saligny and Bourbon-Lancy, who made him a strong place to oversee the Loire and Arroux valleys.

In the 13th century, the castle passed into the hands of the family of Saligny by the marriage of Catherine de La Motte-Saint-Jean with Jean de Saligny. The line continued until the 15th century, when the Coligny-Saligny, including Jean de Coligny-Saligny, transformed the fortress into a more modern castle in the 17th century. The latter, exiled after the Fronde, razed the old structure to build a new castle, now disappeared with the exception of its terrace.

The estate changed hands at the end of the Old Regime, becoming property of the Duke of Cossé-Brissac. The buildings were finally razed in 1836. Only a terrace of 95 meters by 80, as well as a vaulted cooler under the southeast, remains. The site, private, also preserves the traces of the commons of the eighteenth century, visible on engravings of the period.

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