Château de La Chapelle-de-Bragny

History

The castle first appears in written records in 1466, when it belonged to Thibault de Sampigny. Its oldest parts are much earlier: the great round tower, the turrets, part of the wall and the east end of the chapel, whose apse is attributed to the 12th century. In 1566 the estate passed to the Simon family, who held it through the troubled years of the Wars of Religion.

Around 1595 the castle was rebuilt, probably after damage caused by Protestant troops passing through the region. The Beugre family succeeded the Simons in 1623, and the Raffin family acquired the estate in 1786. Important alterations followed at the end of the 19th century. In 1974 the chapel apse was classified as a historic monument and the rest of the old enclosure was listed.

Architecture

The château forms an irregular quadrilateral flanked by a large round tower, two small round turrets and a square tower. A stone bridge crosses a dry moat to a gate tower set between a house of the late 18th century and a later pavilion. Outbuildings line the north side of the courtyard. The walls of the chapel nave are enclosed within the fortifications, and its apse is the most precious part.