Château de Gilly

History

In the 6th century the land at Gilly belonged to a wealthy Gallo-Roman whose son became Saint Germain, bishop of Paris. It later passed to a Benedictine priory, and in 1299 the priory and its estate were sold to the neighbouring Abbey of Cîteaux. During the Hundred Years War the monks turned it into a fortress surrounded by moats, a refuge for themselves and their goods.

The fortress was destroyed at the end of the 16th century, during the Wars of Religion. In the 17th century the abbots of Cîteaux built an elegant country residence on the site, with building campaigns recorded around 1625 and again around 1750. Confiscated at the Revolution, the estate was declared national property in May 1790, sold in January 1791 and then passed through many owners.

In the late 1970s the château belonged to the Côte-d'Or department, which used it as a theatre and cultural centre, and it was listed as a historic monument in 1978. It was then sold, restored and run as a luxury hotel from 1988. In 2022 Alice and Jérôme Tourbier, founders of the Les Sources hotels, bought it, carried out major renovation work and reopened it in February 2026 as Les Sources de Vougeot.

Architecture

The château stands within moats, among French-style gardens and a park. Its listing covers the façades and roofs of the château and outbuildings, a 17th-century pavilion at the corner of the moats, an 18th-century garden pavilion, the moats, the park gates, the grand staircase, the kitchen with its fireplaces and several rooms with period decoration. The monks' vaulted 14th-century cellar now holds the spa.