Château de Boutavent
A spur-top castle that guarded the Grosne valley for the lords of Brancion, then for Cluny.
- Medieval fortress
- 1 h 03 from Beaune
- Private, seen from outside
- 13th and 14th century
€225one way from Beaune with a private driver
At a glance
- Commune
- Cortambert · Saône-et-Loire
- Style
- Medieval castle turned country house
- Heritage
- Registered historic monument
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 1 h 03 by road (80 km), €225 one way for the whole car.
Or add it to our full-day wine tour plus two hours, €700.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the château
Boutavent stands at the tip of a rocky spur above the Grosne valley, north of Cluny. Built by the lords of Brancion, it passed to the abbey of Cluny in 1237 and later became a peaceful farming estate. A massive round tower and a chapel tower still mark its outline.
History
Boutavent was probably built in the first half of the 12th century by the Gros family, lords of Brancion and Uxelles, on the edge of their lands, where it controlled the northern approach to the Grosne valley. In 1237 a lord of Brancion ceded the fortress and its castellany to the abbey of Cluny, and at the end of the 13th century an abbot added new buildings.
Between the 14th and the 16th centuries the castle was taken several times, notably by the troops of Louis XI in 1470, before being disarmed for good and turned into a farming estate. Its grounds were reshaped in the 18th century. It escaped the looting of July 1789 and was sold as national property in 1790. In 1867 the Comte d'Audiffred bought it and made it a country retreat.
Architecture
The château forms a large quadrilateral running north to south, anchored on the south-east by a massive round tower. A porch opens the courtyard to the north, beside a square tower whose first floor holds a neo-Gothic chapel. A long range of stables and barns, reworked in the 18th century, closes the east side, while the main lodging looks south and west over terraces and a 19th-century park.
Visiting
Tips for your visit
Boutavent is a private home and is not open to visitors, so please respect the owners' privacy. It lies in the Grosne valley north of Cluny, so it fits easily into a day combining Cluny abbey, the Château de Cormatin and the small Romanesque churches of the area.
Around here
What to combine with Château de Boutavent on the same day, nearest first.
Questions
Château de Boutavent is about 1 h 03 from Beaune by road (80 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €225 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? The name first appears as Boutavent in the deed of 1237 by which the lord of Brancion handed the castle to Cluny, and the Cassini maps later used the same spelling.
Sources
Château de Boutavent with a private driver
€225 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests