Château de Maulnes

History

Maulnes was built between 1566 and about 1573 for Antoine de Crussol, Duke of Uzès, and his wife Louise de Clermont. The work was carried out by the master mason Jean Verdot, while Jean Cosquino ran the building site as governor of the château. According to its managers, its unusual design is full of symbols. The duke died in 1573 and work stopped. Maulnes stayed with Louise and then passed to her Clermont heirs, the family of nearby Ancy-le-Franc.

In 1697 Maulnes passed to the Louvois family, who kept it until 1834. After that it belonged to a series of private owners and slowly fell into decay. The château had been classified as a historic monument in 1942. In 1997 the Département de l'Yonne acquired it and began a long restoration. The site opened to visitors in 2005, and a major restoration campaign has recently been completed.

Architecture

The plan is a regular pentagon with sides of about 17 metres. At its centre, a hollow cylinder forms a well, and a great spiral staircase turns around it, linking all the floors. Three springs feed the well and a nymphaeum, a water room that connects the inside of the château with the gardens. The layout of rooms and passages is intricate, almost like a maze.