Château de Balleure

History

In the mid-13th century the land belonged to the Sauvement family. In 1340 Henri de Sauvement obtained permission from the duke of Burgundy to enclose his house with walls and ditches. Later in the 14th century the château passed to the Rabutin d'Épiry family, and early in the 15th century to the Saint-Julien family, whose most famous son took the name of Balleure.

Pierre de Saint-Julien de Balleure was born here in 1519 and became a historian of Burgundy. In 1613 the château passed to Charles de Naturel, whose family kept it until the Revolution, and François-Emmanuel de Naturel carried out a partial restoration in 1767. In the 19th century the estate was divided between several owners. In 2014 new owners bought the main part and later opened it to guests.

Architecture

Balleure is laid out on a rectangular plan with round corner towers. On the east stands a rectangular main lodging. The north side has a gate tower, a large square tower and a smaller square tower, while a tall lodging on the west is served by a stair turret. The whole ensemble keeps the compact, enclosed shape of a medieval fortified house.